Black Hounds and Greedy Foxes
by Klandestinee
Summary: Lenara is running away from a past she isn't sure of. After being on the road for 3 years, she stumbles upon the Boar Hat, and meets a hot mess of a group known as The Seven Deadly Sins. She'll learn to balance the drama, discover her history, and even get close to that Fox Sin of Greed. Cover Credit to RinMaruGames
1. Rolling Over

_AN: I would first like to apologize to everyone reading Winter's Color. I have not updated in several months. This year has been particularly difficult for me as I have experienced several deaths, back to back, of close family and friends. For the time being, I have chosen to begin a new FanFic without the too real and dark substances of Winter's Color. Not saying I won't ever update it, just simply that it will be awhile until I can balance everything out. Thank you for your understanding._

Rolling Over

My feet were almost completely numb, rubbing holes into my tattered socks and soon to be useless shoes. The semi-muscular legs attached wouldn't take much longer before they gave. I groaned carelessly into the delicate wind. A soft fur brushed against my thigh, almost encouraging me to keep going. My traveling companion glanced up with golden eyes, blinking a few moments before pausing to yawn.

"I really should find you some water, Kovak." I said to the black hound, running my fingers through the long hair on his back.

Everything was so vividly green today. I found it a shame that I decided to walk through the dark night, completely giving up on sleep. I wouldn't be able to enjoy the sun or the warmth of the wind; instead all I could hope was to find a nice flower bed to crash in.

After trudging up an unforgivable hill, I planted my bottom down onto the ground beside a boulder. Holding a hand over my eyes to shield the sun, I could see a small village in the distance. I assumed it would take maybe less than a half hour walk. _Ugh, I'm too tired._ So there I remained next to the sleeping Kovak. My mossy colored backpack hit the ground, and then my head hit the backpack. _Oh dear, I could sleep for…_

"Come to the Boar Hat!"

 _What the hell?_

She came out of nowhere, I swear. Who knows how she did; the girl had to have been over twenty-five feet tall! She twirled around in a burnt orange suit, fiddling with her brown pigtails and flashing a smile. "Come on in for food and drinks!" The girl continued to cheer, pointing to the quaint building. It had a yellow brick roof pointed quite sharply. It was kind of cute.

Kovak started to bark. Not the sort of bark that said he was scared. No, this was a small kind of talkative bark; the one that meant "I smell food and I'm leaving with or without you". I relented and threw the backpack on. "Kovak, you shit. We're getting it to go."

I fiddled in the pockets of my sweater dress, assuring myself I had enough coinage before carrying on. Down the hill we went; not that my knees were too happy about it.

"Oh look a customer!"

Tall girl shrieked, scaring me so terribly that I fell and began to roll down the hill. My cursed luck nailed my body with every rock and bush as I screamed all the way down, waiting for the land to even itself out. By the time it did, I was seething at the sky and cursing my dress for being so short. The bottom had been pushed uncomfortably up to my waist, and the rest had been twisted and ripped by miscellaneous branches.

"Motherfu.."

Kovak dragged my backpack to my side before licking at my face. The ground began to thump loudly as my body bounced up and down of the grass.

"Oh my, are you okay? I'm so so sorry!"

I whimpered painfully, pushing myself off the ground and resting on my bum. I had to throw my head all the way back just to get a good look at her face. As giant and bubbly as she was, she was also quite lovely.

"You're forgiven." I sighed.

"Come into the boar hat and I promise we'll serve you. It's on me!"

Kovak and I were now in the hands of a giant. I didn't freak out as much, considering I was still in a shit load of pain from the death roll. She was gentle with us, delivering us straight to the tavern. Mind you, what took her three steps would have taken us plenty more.

"My name is Diane." She smiled as she set us down.

"This is Kovak." I gestured to the hound. "I'm Lenara, but you can call me Lenny."

"It's nice to meet you." She giggled before lightly tapping on the window. The expression on her face turned extremely sour. "MELIODAS, YOU FILTHY MAN WHORE!"

I shivered at the sound and found myself knocked back onto the steps of the Boar Hat. Kovak and I exchanged worried glances. _What the hell have we gotten ourselves into? If she's a giant, what kind of other people are in this place?_

"Diane! Please, it's no big deal. Come on, why do you care anyways?" A soft and sad voice pleaded.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be getting customers?" A light hearted boy asked.

She angrily gritted her teeth. "Well I did, but I scared her so bad she ended up rolling halfway to death on the hill. I told her it was on the house!"

The door flung open to reveal a young man with bold yellow hair that stuck up on end. White teeth grinned so wide that I couldn't help but feel freaked out. The more I stared, I realized he couldn't even been a man. He was also kind of short for a guy, but still taller than me. _Everyone is taller than you, stupid. Are you even an inch over five feet?_

"Come on in, I heard we owe you a drink!" He said kindly. He wore a dark vest, the tapered ends nearly reaching the bottom of his knees.

"Yeah, me and the dog." I mumbled, slithering my way passed him. He had a kind of earthy odor about him; something I enjoyed until a felt a sudden pressure around my bum.

"You son of a…" I heard Diane simmer from above. My neck twisted back in time to see him retract his hand from the area. He was pink in the cheeks, grinning happily. _Not for long._

The back of my hand flew into his cheek, sending him tumbling into the door. "I don't recall giving you permission to do that! Is that what you do, lure young women here just so you can cop a feel? You absolute wanker!"

He rubbed his cheek and laughed heartily. "Okay, I'm sorry! We got off on the wrong foot. I guess your next seven meals are on the house aren't they?"

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. Kovak wagged his tail back and forth in excitement before rolling around on the floor. A small hand squeezed my shoulder. "I'm sorry, he does that a lot. Can I get you a drink?"

The girl was pretty and dainty like a lavender jewel. Her waist length hair shimmered and swayed as she walked behind the bar, kindly pouring Kovak a dish of water and setting it on the floor. "Sure, water will be great."

I sat at the bar, chin resting in my hand as I looked the place over. The inside was simple and cute too, I just couldn't understand what it was doing being run by a pervert. "My name is Meliodas." The pervert said, plopping down right next to me.

"Lenny." I said flatly and pointed to the hound. "Kovak."

"I'm Elizabeth." The dainty jewel said sweetly. She wore a tiny pink blouse, barely containing her chest. The same could be said for her little skirt. _Elizabeth…I knew an Elizabeth._

"It's nice to meet you." I smiled at her kindly. Elizabeth seemed to be the innocent one in the arrangement to tell the truth. I liked Diane as well, and couldn't help but feel a little bad for her. She seemed to be at her wits end with this perverted Meliodas.

"What the hell is this? Why is there a _dog_ in here?"

I glanced around quickly, searching for the source of the high pitched voice. Kovak simply laid down with his tongue lapping eagerly at the water. I turned back to my own cup and saw a very tiny pink pig, shooting glares straight at me. "I hope he doesn't like pork, and I sure as hell hope he doesn't come near my scraps!"

"Excuse me?" I raised a brow. "Oh. I guess that's why they call it the boar hat." I mused and sipped more water.

A little boy grasping a green pillow effortlessly floated over the bar. "Don't mind Hawk. He's just making up for his size," He told me softly, with half closed eyes.

"Still a little hung-over, King?" Meliodas teased.

"I suppose so." He replied, tugging at his teal sleeves and re-adjusting himself over the pillow.

"You guys sure have a full house." I commented.

"We do." Elizabeth replied. "I guess I'm still not sure where Gowther and Ban ran off too."

"Yeah, Ban is a really great cook. However, I could definitely fix something up if you're hungry!" Meliodas smiled, over-dramatically strapping on an apron and hopping behind the bar to grab Elizabeth in an unspeakable region.

"Please, Meliodas! We only just met her; we aren't trying to kill her!" Elizabeth shrieked, face turning crimson.

"I can't wait to get more of those pills from Merlin." I heard Diane sigh.

"Diane! I've already told you, you don't need them!" The boy, King, screamed and punched his pillow.

I looked at Kovak, and he looked at me. This place was a hot mess.

"You don't seem to be bothered by a talking pig and a floating kid on a pillow. Oh, and the giant outside our door doesn't mean anything to you either?"

By this time, I was hydrated enough to switch to ale. Thank goodness for that. Meliodas started asking me all kinds of strange questions. He turned from pervert to a complete interrogator. I ran my fingers over my crown of mauve braids and sighed. "I don't know. I've been traveling with Kovak for awhile now. I've seen a lot of weird things. I figure as long as I'm not being attacked, then I'm okay for now."

"Are you running from something?"

I gritted my teeth and clenched the heavy cup with small fingers; seeing my face reflect in the liquid. I saw the green speckles in my amber eyes twist and turn into a raging flame. _Run away. Run as far as you can, they said. Don't look back. If they find you…_

"Nope! Not a thing." I smiled, fluttering my eyelashes..

Meliodas gave an intrigued look for a moment, and then smiled. "Well I guess that's it! By the way, did you notice that you're still bleeding?"

I looked down. My grey sleeves were indeed torn and had been splattered with a red that was quickly drying. The same could be said around my chest and stomach. A few splints cut my skin and remained in the wounds; needing to be picked before an infection developed.

"Thanks Ban!" I heard a laugh from outside.

"Sure, don't overdose." A deep voice advised.

A few minutes later, the door was burst open by a much tinier version of Diane. She swirled around, showing off her pink dress and completely new size. "Ban picked up the pills from Merlin!"

"I told you, you were just fine." King grumbled from above, not wanting to be heard.

An exceptionally tall man wearing flashy red leather followed, carrying two dead animal carcasses over his shoulder. His face resembled that of a fox; sneaky and hungry with sharp eye teeth. "We're eating good tonight." He cooed.

"I suppose if you like a lot of fat." A young man with pink hair interjected as he cleaned his glasses. "According to my calculations, there is about thirty percent of fat per pound on those carcasses."

"Come on, Gowther. Fat is where all of the flavor comes from anyways. Besides, thirty percent isn't terrible." The fox man argued.

"He's right!" Hawk agreed. "I used to have a whole lot of fat and you guys still tried to eat me!"

I stared nervously into my cup, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden amount of people in the room. There was a time I used to be good at it, but something was wrong. My hand fell into my lap, and for a moment I thought I spilled my cup. No, I was staring at it. Then why was my hand so wet?

Diane must have sensed something. I felt her hand grip my shoulder tightly. "Lenara? Are you okay?"

I could see Kovak licking the tall man's fingers. "Hey…I like this guy." He said. Kovak flipped onto his back and allowed him to scratch at his tummy. "Where'd you come from, big boy?"

My eyes grew wide as I felt it. How could I have sat here this long and not noticed the branch inside of me? It was keeping the blood in my body, but now it started coming loose. "Diane, there's a branch in my stomach." I cringed.

"She's right." The pink haired guy suddenly appeared next to me. "I'd recommend taking it out and bandaging the wound immediately. Infection is possible."

Elizabeth cringed when I raised my bloody hand in shock. "Meliodas, do something!"

He nodded. "Ban, take her to Elizabeth's bed so we can extract the branch."

"But I sleep in Elizabeth's bed." Ban told him monotonously.

Meliodas put his finger to his chin and gave another thought. "Ban, take her to your bed so we can extract the branch."

"Sure, captain." He agreed, shoving hands beneath my armpits and picking me straight up. "Whoa, you really did get tore up. How come you haven't passed out yet?"

I lolled my head to the side and closed my eyes and _tried_ to pass out. The pain was starting to creep as I felt him leave the room with my body in hand. Eventually I felt it creep all over. It was too much for me.


	2. Remember?

I opened my eyes to see several heads surrounding me like a strange ring of confusion, intrigue, and a pinch of suffocation. The pink haired man, Gowther, mumbled calculations of wellness above my forehead. I could swear I felt a cupped hand on my breast, now only covered by the thin fabric of a blanket. Meliodas was the culprit, no doubt, standing right in between Elizabeth and tiny Diane as a green pillow floated up ahead. Ban scratched his chin in thought as the chatty pig slept soundly on his shoulder.

"Oh dear Lenara, are you okay?" Elizabeth questioned as she brushed a strand of my hair back. I groaned and touched my head, realizing someone had taken out my braids. I must have looked a mess.

"Who undressed me?" I asked flatly. Countless pairs of eyes floated towards the blonde in the center of the ring.

"Come on guys! Let's give our new friend some space!" The accused said nervously, probably preparing for a bashing as he stepped back.

Gowther cleared his throat. "Luckily, we managed to bandage your wounds and pluck out each foreign object; thirty- seven splinters and one branch, three and a half inches deep."

"The splinters were way too tedious. I'm not doing _that_ shit again." Ban whined, making me feel kind of bad. "But, I mean, I guess it's better than…" He trailed off before stepping back. I wondered if he saw the despair in my face and tried covering up his annoyance.

I rose from my back, careful to keep the blanket over my body. The bandages were well tight, but luckily I could still move pretty well. "So, I guess I should go ahead and get dressed. Kovak and I should be on our way soon."

"What? You can't leave now!" Diane exclaimed. "You won't make it very far in that condition!"

"I didn't want to impose…" I mumbled.

"Nonsense! I took the liberty of looking through your bag, and I think you could be of some help." Meliodas proudly claimed.

My entire body froze, teeth gritted and lips pursed. I could have breathed fire through my nostrils in that moment. What did he find that he saw helpful?

"Captain, she doesn't look too happy." Ban warned.

"I don't blame her." Said the voice from above, continuously floating around Diane like a sick puppy.

 _What did you see, Meliodas? Could it have been Kovak's lucky dragon bone?_

"What makes you think you can look through a girl's belongings?" Diane scolded, hands on her hips.

 _Did you find my father's knife? Or, was it my diary full of drawings and stories?_

Meliodas shrugged. "Well to tell the truth, a little book full of recipes fell out of your bag. I thought it was Ban's, since he's the real cook around here."

My lips parted in astonishment. "You found my dad's recipe book?" I snorted a laugh, tightening my arms around my chest. Meliodas held the red book in the air and nodded in agreement.

"I mean, look at this thing. We could make so much money. So many tips and tricks…"

"Meliodas…let me see that book." Elizabeth inquired skeptically and gently pulled it from his grasp. Her delicate fingers flipped page through page. She inspected the binding, and finally flipped back to the first page. Bright eyes widened at the name on the inside.

"Elidiyon and Elbiyon Heatherford?" She squealed, and handed the book back to Meliodas. "Oh, I knew that name sounded familiar! Lenara Heatherford?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Yes?"

She jumped back to the side of my bed. "Elidiyon and Elbiyon were the twin chefs that served the palace! We knew each other when we were children! Elbiyon was your father!"

 _Elizabeth. Oh I knew Elizabeth! It was so long ago, but my memories of the palace had been completely wiped out. My parents were the only reason I knew about the palace. They were always telling me about how much I loved it there, and how much the Royal family loved us…_

"I'm sorry Elizabeth, but I…I don't remember it really. My father told me I was in an accident not long after he opened the bakery. So, I've completely forgotten a chunk of my life."

Elizabeth frowned and her eyes began to water. I felt terribly bad, but I didn't want to lie. Truly, I had no memory of the palace and I barely remembered my Uncle Elidiyon. My parents opened a bakery, pretty far from Liones when I was just entering my teens. I never could recall much of my childhood, but that was why I kept the recipes around. To me, they were more than that. Every page was an anecdote from my time with them. How I wished I had the funds or the means just to taste the memories once again.

"Hey, you know…I guess I'm going to have to be here for a minute. Maybe you and I could do some catching up. You can help me remember." I reached out to Elizabeth. She smiled, giving a tiny giggle.

"Great!" Meliodas agreed and tossed the recipe book to Ban. He caught it with ease and started flipping through pages. "Since you're too weak to cook, we'll get Ban to fix us some Lunch!"

Ban licked his fingers and turned a few more pages deep. "Using a recipe book? That'll be a first." He mumbled before something caught his eye. "Hey, they cooked with magic? Who knew spells could give your meat so many flavors." The towering man paced back and forth, head deep in thought as he read through the book.

"Was that a sexual joke, Ban?" Meliodas smirked.

"Only if you take it that way, Cap'n."

"I hope he learns something new. I'm tired of the same thing! Hey are there any sweets in there?" Diane asked.

"If not, I'll go find you something sweet!" King replied anxiously.

"Diane." Gowther started. "It wouldn't make sense for a palace chef to _not_ have sweets in his recipe book."

My head began to hurt. "Enough." I scolded boldly.

Everyone stood still, turning their eyes slowly like they had just been caught red handed in the cookie jar. "I'm sorry, I just feel smothered right now. "

"We'll leave you to it then." Meliodas said. King floated out on his pillow and Diane followed, bidding me well.

Gowther paused and pointed to my bandaged belly. "Before I go, I just want you to know that those will need to be changed soon. There's no need to air it out, just keep yourself clean."

"Sure." I nodded with a smile. He gracefully left the room, leaving me puzzled by his demeanor. His voice was like fresh air, but with no trace of feelings.

Ban stood silently, still wrapped up in the book. He walked without paying any attention and nearly fell head first into one of the short dressers. Hawk snorted on his shoulder before falling back asleep. "Shitty furniture!" He growled as he clutched his foot. "Sorry kids, just because you're immortal doesn't mean stubbing your toe isn't any less annoying."

After he left, Elizabeth remained by my side and smoothly patted my hand. "Lenny, why are you traveling? I thought, you'd still be working at the bakery? Oh, I remember when father told me you were all leaving! I was so upset that day."

I sighed, wishing she wouldn't have asked. The truth was still too painful, even after the few years I had been gone. "Elizabeth, there was a fire at the bakery three years ago."

"W-what?"

"I don't really remember much. I sometimes had a bad habit in the kitchens, you know? I'd leave things where they shouldn't have been…" I trailed off, feeling emotional. "Our house was attached to the bakery. It all just burnt down."

She squeezed my hand tightly. "It couldn't have been your fault, Lenny."

I shrugged. "Someone pulled me out of bed. By that time, there was nothing I could do. They just told me to run, and if I was found, everyone would know it was all my fault."

She stared at me blankly, confused by my story. "But, who saved you? You don't even know how it happened?"

I shook my head. "No, I have no idea what happened or who saved me. I can't even remember if it was a man or a woman. I just…if I tell myself that they're dead, then I won't get my hopes up."

Elizabeth jumped to her feet. "We're going to make some new memories, Lenny. Your father was so good to us. If he's really gone, then I have to pay him back somehow."

My eyes began to water. She was too kind to me. Suddenly she threw herself into the nearby closet, rapidly searching through some decent clothes. "We're going to change those bandages and get you dressed for lunch!" She declared. I smiled as I rested, fluttering my eyes open and shut.

"Oh, Lenny? Did I mention how Meliodas and I met?"

"Actually, no. How did you guys meet?"

"Well…" She began, nervously squeezing a burgundy top. "Meliodas and everyone else…"

I tightened my lips. "Spit it out."

"They're the sins. The seven deadly sins!" She smiled. My head fell back into my pillow.

Nice.

* * *

AN: Hey guys, just wanted to help with some pronunciation.

Elidiyon = El-id (As in middle) - ian

Elbiyon = El - BEE - on (As in yawn)


	3. Drink Up

Elizabeth changed my bandages and dressed me up. She talked about them the entire time; how they met, fought against the holy knights, everything. I was over loaded and overwhelmed with information. However, it was nice to talk about her life rather than mine.

She scooted me over carefully so I could look at myself in the mirror. Elizabeth managed to find a comfortable sweater dress similar to my own, minus the tears. It was a pale blue, with stretchy fabric and off the shoulder sleeves. I didn't have nice shoes, but she made sure I had some comfortable socks to run around in so my feet weren't exposed. They were light pink and stretched all the way to my knees. Combined with the messy waves of dark lilac locks, I was quite colorful.

"So are you and Meliodas a thing?" I questioned light-heartedly. "This place is a love triangle away from becoming a sweaty hot drama, isn't it?"

She laughed, resting her hands on my shoulders. "I see what you mean, Len. King really likes Diane, and Diane has affection for Meliodas, but she likes King too. Everyone is special to everyone in a different way, I guess."

"What about Ban?" I asked, nervously. _He wasn't that good looking, you idiot._

"Oh, Ban. He's just…" She paused. "Why do you ask?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Are you hungry? I'm hungry."

Without another word, I carefully made my way back down to the bar. Elizabeth began to hover her hands over my shoulders in case I had fallen. The pain was hardly there, but the bandages were nice and tight so I wasn't worried about bleeding out. Suddenly, I could smell the wonderful meat cooking hot in the pan; I could already taste it. _Oh, is he cooking the roast sandwiches? My dad made those all the time! Hopefully he seasoned it properly…_

Kovak licked my fingers as I sat down in front of Ban, who was slicing the hot rolls with a large knife. Meliodas poured a few drinks for Diane so she could carry them to the small crowd of customers gathered at the table. "Elizabeth, we're starting to pick up!" Meliodas warned her.

"Shoot. I guess I'm going to have to get to work, Lenny." She glanced around. "I just sat down too. I'll let Ban keep you company!" Elizabeth patted me on the back before heading off to set tables.

I folded my arms nervously, watching his long fingers line the sandwiches on the plates. He was more clean cut and articulate than my dad was in placement. I admired that greatly. Then again, I'm sure making a plate look good for a young girl didn't matter to my dad, as long as I ate it.

Ban started humming. No, he had been humming for some time. I just didn't notice it. I was paying way to much attention to his movements, and to his hips and lower abs. The way they showed proudly in that stupid red outfit he wore should have been outlawed.

"I'm not going to eat you."

"Huh?"

He held a plate over the bar and pushed it in front of me. "I said I wouldn't eat you. You're very quiet, you know. You have permission to speak." Ban blinked a few times, looking back and forth between the plate and I. "So you're going to eat, right?"

I said nothing. I detested eating food with my hands, so I quickly grabbed a fork and knife and began cutting into the sandwich. Diane slid beside me to grab a few hot plates from Ban and went on her way. "Thank you!" She chirped. I hoped Ban wasn't paying attention to me greedily licking cheese off my lips. His cooking blew my mind, and I found myself quickly finishing half of the sandwich. Mind you, these were huge and full of meat, cheese, onions, and whatever else he decided to throw in.

"Wow, I really was hoping you'd feel that way!" He laughed at me. I cringed and delicately wiped food from my lips.

"It's really good, Ban. Thank you."

"I'm kind of bummed you don't remember me."

I stopped mid-bite. "You know, I lost my memories." I told him and took a gulp of water.

He took my cup from my hand and poured it down the sink. "Have some ale, maybe you'll remember." Ban winked and re-filled it, setting it beside my plate. My cheeks were on fire, and suddenly my sweater was too hot. I took a few gulps of the ale, doing exactly as he wanted.

"Ban! I need a few more of those sandwiches!" Elizabeth called. He nodded and started cutting up more bread.

"Man, it's hot in here!" Ban peeled off his crimson top and replaced it with the Boar Hat apron. He turned his back to me and tended to the meat on the fire. I jokingly let out an "ahh" and rested my chin in my hand, hoping no one heard.

"Your dad taught me to cook this! I could never get it right when he was around." He called out to me.

I took a few gulps of ale. "Yeah, dad had scary eyes didn't he?"

"He was just too nice. You never wanted to let him down. Your uncle on the other hand was a crazy bastard!" Ban over dramatically seasoned the meat and flipped it on the cutting board, bringing it back to the bar for placement.

By this time, I was starting to feel the effects of the drink. Before I could reach it, he already started filling it back up. I looked around and noticed a few more tables full of people; laughing and throwing back huge glasses of ale. "He was passionate." I corrected. "I will always remember that."

"Absolutely." Ban replied, handing out more plates before running back to the oven and pulling out some meat pies. "You look like your mother!" He called out, head nearly halfway into the oven.

"You think so?" I asked. Ban finished handing out the meat pies and glanced at my drink, then back to me. I rolled my eyes and picked it back up, drinking slowly with my eyes on him. He looked right back, flashing a toothy grin.

"You're short like her. She had the same eyes too, and your lips are like hers. I can tell by the way you drink."

I let out a laugh, emphasized by the amount of alcohol in my body. "So is that why you keep filling my drink?"

"Sure. I mean, it's always cool to see how fun someone is when they're drunk." Ban stretched his right arm around his back, attempting to scratch an unreachable place. He frowned, leaning over the bar. "Would you mind?"

I had to get on my knees on the barstool just to reach the dead center of his back, lightly scratching around to hit the spot. "Over to the left. Wait…go back just an inch. Hey, you can go harder…harder."

"Do you want me to use a knife?"

"That's completely unsanitary!" He laughed deeply. "It's okay, I feel better now." I sat back down like normal and sipped back on the cup. Ban reached for another and filled it right up before ravenously throwing it back. I watched the muscles in his throat as a tiny bit of ale streamed down his lips.

"Such a mess." I quipped, daintily sipping on my own.

"Mmm well I've got to catch up, don't I?" He took a finger and wiped the trace of ale on his face before licking it off like some kind of freak.

"I can't get too drunk, can I? I'm injured, so maybe I shouldn't be falling all over the place." I pushed a few strands of hair from my face.

He nodded. "Yeah, let's hold off for now until I can get you somewhere safe and cuddly. _Then,_ we'll really get wasted. "

We held off, but not for long. I sipped throughout the night, watching customers and chatting with Ban as well as Elizabeth and Diane occasionally. Finally it started getting quite slow, with only a few gentlemen wrapping up their last drinks. King even came out for a minute, deciding not to be shy and watch Diane do her thing. The way he watched her was precious.

Ban filled another cup and threw it back, much like last time. It was getting late, and I wondered how far he planned on going. Suddenly, Meliodas and Diane were starting to pour it down too! It seemed like Elizabeth didn't care much for getting smashed. In fact, she headed to bed once the last few left.

"Where'd you get the hound, girl? I love this guy!" Ban exclaimed as roughed it up with Kovak.

"Found him by a river." I said breathlessly, getting off the stool and kneeling to give Kovak a good scratch. "Think he needed a good friend."

"Heeey, don't tell Hawk." Ban cupped his hand over his mouth and leaned in my ear. Suddenly I saw a bowl halfway full of scraps. He nudged it by Kovak, looking around dramatically for the pig.

"B-Ban. You ever wonder why his name is Hawk?" Meliodas slurred, kneeling next to us.

Ban whispered, ruby eyes growing wide. "No, Cap'n. Why?"

Meliodas sighed and scratched his head. "Man, I don't know. I was wondering if you wondered too."

"Why are we kneeling by the dog?" Diane asked. I didn't even realize she was there. We all looked like idiots, sitting in a circle around a dog eating scraps, talking about pigs named Hawk. I let out a laugh, followed by a snort.

"Lenny, you need another drink." Ban held out a cup. I grabbed it carefully before I realized he was tipping it down my mouth. I drank it fast, not wanting to be sloppy and get alcohol all over my clothes. "Hey, good girl."

"This guy is soo cool." Meliodas ran his fingers through Kovak's black hair. His face was getting a little sweaty, and his golden locks were much messier. You could tell he worked hard today. "Man I need to get one of these. I-I needa get one, you know? I wanna ride him into battle. Hey, Lenny? Lenny, can I ride your dog to war?"

I laughed obnoxiously. Ban's mouth grew wide, but no sound came out. He fell to his side, holding onto his stomach before his low cackles filled the room. "Shit, Captain."

"Captain, you can ride me out to war!" Diane quipped. The room turned aggressively silent. I watched Ban right across from me, as his cheeks filled with air. He was about to lose his shit, and so was I.

"Diane, have another drink!" Ban mysteriously pulled another from behind his back.

"Ban, are you pulling these from your ass!" I thought out loud, cheeks hurting immensely from my constant smiling.

Ban shrugged. "I don't know, how does it taste?"

I shook my head, laughing so hard I couldn't stand it. That was when I fell back to the floor, head hitting the wood hard enough for Ban to come crawling over. He dropped himself next to me with a groan, lazily moving a few hairs away from my face. His nose was a mere inch from mine. I could have kissed him. Oh, I wanted to. The way he smelled of sweat and ale, accompanied with a hint of sandalwood made me weak in places I couldn't say.

"Hmm you're getting messy now." He slurred, slowly grazing his tongue over his lips.

I felt my cheeks flush through the drunk in my head. "Sooo?" I trailed off with a giggle, feeling the cold floor beneath my head.

"I wanna take you to bed before you get hurt."

"I'm not hurt, Sir Ban."

He smiled widely, cheek planted against the floor. "Stop being cute and let me take you upstairs."

I huffed. "Carry me."

Ban looked taken aback, but then he started laughing as he got onto his feet. "Oh someone's getting aggressive." Carefully, I felt him raise me up like before, delicately avoiding my bandaged wound. He held me close like a child as I gingerly wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Come." Ban snapped his fingers.

"Did you just tell me to come?" I quipped.

He tipped my head back to view my face. "No? I was talking to the dog, silly. Besides, I should _never_ have to tell you that."

"Baaaannn, why are you taking him away?" Meliodas whined. Ban ignored him. I listened to Kovak's feet tapping against the floor as we reached the room.

"Hmmm." Ban began to hum as he shut the door behind us. I closed my eyes and felt him lay me down in the dark. I heard a soft noise, and realized he tossed away his Boar Hat apron before snuggling in between the blankets. He wasted no time and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, placing a delicate hand over my stomach.

"Are you hurting?"

"No." I whispered. "I'm getting so tired and weak." I admitted, feeling like I couldn't move any further.

I heard him take a deep breath and laugh. "Sleepy time?"

"Kiss me good night first."

He squeezed my shoulder and pressed warm lips to my forehead. "Good night, Lenny." He whispered deeply in my ear. His lips hovered over my cheek for moments, almost teasingly. I don't remember the last time I _ever_ felt that perfect. I slept wonderfully.


	4. Babysitter's Sweets

**AN: Hey, I decided to design Lenny on this cool Anime Avatar Creator on RinMaruGames. Check it out! It came out so cute, I made it a cover.**

* * *

I wanted to walk up to the mirror and punch myself in the face. Then, I wanted to slap myself for being a silly little girl. How could I have thought this was acceptable? Why in the world did I choose to drink so heavily, and wake up next to someone I had only met a few hours prior? _Well, if you think about it, you have known the Seven Deadly Sins since you were a child._

He snored heavily next to me, like some kind of fire breathing dragon, minus the fire _._ Ban's skin was pale and clammy, with the hair on his head sticking in every direction. I had been awake for about an hour now, with his hand still covering my stomach. Kovak rested at our feet, and I wondered how I was going to get out of this bed without bothering anyone.

I slipped through his grasp and tip toed down quietly. Diane and King were resting on his lime green pillow while Meliodas walked around them, sweeping up and cleaning yesterday's shenanigans. "Hey, do you need some help?" I offered.

"Sure! I thought you would be hung over." He replied, looking much cleaner now that he wasn't obsessing over Kovak.

"I don't get hang overs."

Meliodas silently stared at me, like I just pulled a birthday present out of my ass and expected him to open it. "I wish I had that super power." He finally said. I picked up a towel and began cleaning off the bar.

"Can I ask you something personal? Also, I'd like you to be honest with me."

Meliodas opened the door, forcefully sweeping out dust. "Of course."

"I would like to know, to what extent did we know each other?" I asked him carefully. I wasn't sure if I was asking to pacify my mind, in regards to sharing a bed with Ban. Sure, I probably was. However, it would still do me some good to know.

"Well, Elidiyon and Elbiyon served us at the Royal Banquets we attended. Also, Ban was pretty fond of your father, and I think he even babysat you a few times. Oh wait! Now that I remember it, Ban _and_ King were your baby sitters!"

I nearly fell onto the floor as I leaned over the stools. "My parents let him watch me?" I cringed out loud as I continued dusting. "Meliodas, I need details."

King began to stir in his sleep, but quickly knocked himself back out when Diane put her hand on him. Meliodas watched them and sighed deeply before beginning his story. "Your dad and uncle were catering a private event for the day. Your mother was suddenly sent on a mission, by the king."

 _Mom was on a mission? What could she have been doing?_

"You must have been seven years old. It was well over ten years ago, but anyways. King was appointed to watch you in their absence, but naturally Ban hung around too since Elbiyon promised them leftovers." Meliodas scratched his head and set the broom aside before rolling up his sleeves. I continued listening as I attempted to chip away a strange substance beneath the bar.

"When King walked through the door and Volaria left, everything was fine. I mean, you guys had tea time and played with plushies all afternoon."

"That was _before_ Ban walked through the door." A voice said in a sinister tone. I looked up and saw King was gone, and was instead replaced by…a fatter version of himself? He slowly walked to the bar stool and sat down, staring at me darkly.

"You took one look at him and I swear you disappeared into thin air. I don't know what it was about him, but something about the way he looked _horrified_ you. Was it the long hair? The scar? No, maybe it was just his face; I don't know." King shook his head slowly and over-dramatically like someone had just died.

"We looked for you for three hours. I think, maybe you snuck around behind our backs because you were in the house. I cried the whole time, because I thought you were gone forever! Ban was being so insensitive, not understanding _why_ you had the _audacity_ to run away. But, he didn't understand that you were just a poor shy little girl! Every now and then, we heard you cry because you were scared, but then you'd disappear!"

Meliodas caught my eye, laughing quietly as I smiled awkwardly. King started sobbing as he pushed the fact that I was just a really timid child. "Luckily, you fell asleep in the food cabinet. Ban found you snoring against the flour. I watched him pick you up, your little nose and cheeks were covered in the stuff. I was just so thankful and overwhelmed that we found you, and that your parents weren't going to kill us!"

"So then what happened?" I pondered aloud.

"Well, Ban put you down for your nap. He fell asleep an-"

"Dude, you woke up and screamed! Scared me so bad, I thought I was going to shit myself!" A voice shouted, belonging to none other than Ban himself. He had been standing behind me, for who knows how long.

"How embarrassing…" I mumbled, rubbing my temples. I looked back to King and noticed he was back to his tiny self, shaking his head at Ban's interruption.

"We never told your parents that story." King sighed. "Wait, Lenny. Don't tell them we told you that."

I paused for a moment, remembering that I only told Elizabeth they were dead. Well, I should thank her for being confidential, but I guess I half expected her to be the gossip kind. It would have saved me a little bit of work.

"You know, I guess I should tell you that…um." I tripped over my words and started biting my lip nervously. King blinked, staring at me with intrigue. Ban sat at one of the freshly cleaned tables and let his head fall on top, simmering back into his hung over state of mind. "My family died in a fire a few years back, I'm sorry to tell you that."

King's jaw dropped. Ban's head shot up before he got back on his feet, straight as an arrow. Even Meliodas had to take a seat to process the news.

Ban stared at the floor. "That really…that blows, man. I really liked them a lot."

"You don't know how it happened?" King questioned.

I shook my head, remembering everything I could all over again. "I just remember a voice. Someone woke me up and told me to run away."

Diane had woken and heard the story. I felt her squeeze my shoulder silently before walking behind the bar. Deeply, I sighed, wanting to shake off the story once again. "Anyways!" I shrugged it off. "I'm kind of weirded out that my parents let a couple of sins take care of me for a few afternoons."

I heard a chorus of "huh?"

King smiled faintly, understanding I was trying to change the subject. "You were just scared because he was a lot bigger than you, that's all."

Ban snorted a laugh. "Must have been, because I've _always_ been this sexy."

Meliodas stood from his seat, straightening out his vest "Ban. Let's go outside, we've got a few errands to run."

Ban rolled his eyes before double taking at Meliodas. "Errands? What are we, a couple? Since when do we go on errands?"

Meliodas pushed his lips together tightly and that's all she wrote. Ban sighed and headed for the door, but not before gently running his hands through my hair. "Hey, I'm sorry about the family, kid. We'll take care of you."

"Ban!"

"Shit, cap'n! I'm coming."

Ban slammed the door behind him, leaving King, Diane and I by ourselves. Well, that's what we thought. Poor Elizabeth had missed all the action and just tip toed out of bed with Hawk on her shoulder. Kovak had followed, now resting upon King's precious pillow. Elizabeth sighed, and I could tell she really didn't feel like working today.

"You just missed them." King said.

"That's okay. I could go for a quite morning." Elizabeth insisted.

"Me too!" Hawk agreed. "Let's lock them out."

"Hey, Diane?" I asked, turning my head from side to side until I found her by the window, staring at Meliodas and Ban, no doubt. "Diane?"

"Yeah, Lenny?" She answered sweetly.

I grabbed my dad's recipe book from beneath the bar. "Were you still wanting some sweets?"

* * *

I had a great idea this morning. Also, I wanted to show Meliodas that I could be pretty useful in the tavern. Personally, I didn't feel that I was obligated to do so, but I liked to take the extra step. I told the group not to worry about working around the bar for a few hours, just so I could concentrate on preparing the things I wanted.

"Shit, I guess he's really not into sweets." I cringed at the cabinet. He had plenty of ingredients, but I reckon they hadn't been foraging for berries in awhile. "King?" I called.

"What's up, Len?" I looked up to see him floating around.

I smiled like I was guilty. "So I know I said I didn't need anything, but maybe you and Diane could go look for some fruits? Oh, and more milk would be great too. I'm about to take the rest." I searched all around for my bag and pulled out a few silver coins, tossing it in the air for King to catch gracefully.

"Diane!" He called before floating off. That took care of that.

"We should definitely get some chickens." I said to myself. "Keep the eggs, and then eventually just cook the guys." With a swift movement, I cracked the eggs and started whisking ingredients.

"Hey there! We don't _need_ any more animals!" I heard Hawk pipe up as he sauntered across the bar.

"Hawk, those animals would be for eating. Think of it this way, if I'm thinking about chicken, I'm not thinking about pork."

He sighed, parking his butt beside the bowl. "You're right."

For a moment, I stepped away and began re-raiding the cabinet. _Pudding would be great too. I could add these cookies to give it a little crunch. Oh god, but they're old._

"Lenny! Why is that whisk still moving?" Hawk screamed. Sure enough, the whisk was continuing a cycle around the bowl. It's happened many times before, whether it was me or my dad cooking. I wasn't shocked.

"That's nothing." I said, setting the cookies down as the whisking continued. "My dad had a little spell in here…to make things new..." I trailed off as my fingers guided me through the book.

"What's that?" He screamed again. There was now another mixing bowl present. Eggs hovered over the top and I watched them being separated from the yolks in thin air.

"Oh, I guess I was just thinking about that for the pudding. Anyways." I turned back to the book. "Oh nice, here it is!"

The whisk began to slow down. The yolks from the eggs were now being mixed with the milk. Pure vanilla was being cut in the back of my head, as well as the end of the bar. I circled my pinky finger slowly over the tan graham cookies before bringing my pointer finger down, dragging a drape of chocolate over the sweets.

"This is so cool." I heard Hawk whisper.

"Try one of those cookies." I whispered back.

With one bite, I was forgiven completely for bringing in Kovak, and suggesting we get chickens. Hawk was in pure love, and I even had to stop him from chomping down the whole lot of them. "Lenny, why does magic have to taste so amazing?"

"Because magic is a magical thing, you know?"

"We're back!" I heard King float in through an open window and drop a bag full of fruits into my arms. Diane opened the door, carrying several glass bottles of milk in her arms.

"Why is everything moving on its own?" She asked, setting the milk on what little room the bar had left.

"I think that knife is looking at me." I heard Elizabeth squeak as she came back out of her room, dressed and ready for the day. I shook off my thoughts, letting everything cease for the time being. Sadly, I was becoming overwhelmed and couldn't keep it up any longer.

"Sorry, it just happens sometimes." I assured them.

"Lenny, how long have you shown magical capabilities?" Diane inquired, looking a little concerned.

I laughed nervously. "I mean, awhile? I should really get these fruits cut up." Suddenly they began to fly in the air before falling gracefully onto the cutting board; now being cut by the knife Elizabeth swore was staring at her.

"You know what, I'd just like to observe." King said and pulled up a chair. Diane and Elizabeth followed as Hawk hopped onto Elizabeth's shoulder.

As long as they were quiet, I could finish everything I was doing in a timely manner. The pudding began to set as I crunched up the cookies and folded them in. In the meantime, the cakes had started to bake in the oven while I heated a homemade berry glaze. "Hey guys, we should go ahead and let customers in."

"Wonderful!" Elizabeth exclaimed before running out the door. Diane and King continued sitting in awe.

"You're heating up those berries with your index finger in the middle of the air." Diane said plainly. "Those…those were just plain eggs a minute ago. How are your dishes coming together so quickly?"

"It was a trick in the book."

"You're letting customers in, Lenny? B-but how do we have enough to feed everyone? You've only made small portions!" King asked anxiously. I could see the sweat bead on his forehead.

"There's a trick for that too I think."

 _Ding_

 _Oh that was quick._

"You sped that up too!" King exclaimed.

I topped the pudding with chopped blueberries and gave it a quick flick, duplicating two more large bowls. To tell the truth, I really thought King was going to faint, but not before he saw what I did with the cakes. The pan floated out onto the bar, and then another, and another, and another…

"I really hope she brings in a lot of customers. We're going to have to give it away before it goes bad." I thought out loud. _That glaze needs to cool down before I pour it over this cake._

I cut the cakes into squares and plated them. Once I cooled the glaze a little, I made sure each cake was coated in a fashionable way. By this time, I could hear Elizabeth come swinging through the doors with customers behind her. The chairs squeaked as people sat down, with Diane running behind the bar to fix up drinks. I began to scoop pudding onto each plate next to the cakes, but not before dusting a little more crumbled cookie on top.

The crazy thing is that I did all of that without using my hands. Once I finished and all of the plates were ready to go, I started helping the girls with the drinks. Diane would come up and grab a few plates and her ale would be ready to go. Elizabeth became over-whelmed as customers came in and out, so I'd go around and clean up the tables. I started using my hands at this point, just so I could avoid any stares in hopes that everyone was enjoying their meals.

Even though the lunch hour was over, we did not close. We still had that many plates I duplicated, and just as many customers. Elizabeth had advertised very well, calling it "The Boar Hat's Sweet Hour!" King collected all the money behind the bar, as well as sorted Diane and Elizabeth's tips in two separate jars.

I was serving some drinks behind the bar when I heard a few familiar voices roll through. Ban and Meliodas had returned from their "errands" and decided to take a seat.

"Are you trying to take my tavern?" Meliodas laughed, sparkle in his eyes.

"No sir, I'm just trying to make you money." I served them two ales.

Ban grinned and waved his hand at me, ready to feed me a long story. "So the whole time that we walk, all I can hear are these guys talking about this amazing tavern, right?" Ban took a swig of ale. "They said the girl behind the bar made three hundred cakes in three minutes without using her hands. The shit was floating in the air! So I said to the captain, who the hell is…" Ban trailed off as a plate floated in front of him; it was one hundred percent, my doing.

He slowly turned around to see everyone eating the same thing, confirming the stories he heard. Ban grew silent, staring at the food for an awkward moment. A plate floated before Meliodas and he immediately began to feast. "This is too good, Lenny. Can I have some more pudding?"

"I'm not going to eat you." I told Ban, echoing our other conversation as I gave Meliodas more pudding. "You have permission to speak."

Ban looked like he bit his own tongue and couldn't figure out what to do. Slowly, he tried both items and gave an expression of extreme satisfaction. "You know what this is, don't you?" He inquired with a voice like red velvet. I furrowed my brow at him, quite taken aback at his question.

He leaned in closely with his sweet, tooth-baring smile. "We made this when you were a little girl, just the three of us. It didn't taste as good as it does now, though." Ban licked every trace of food off his spoon before pointing it at me and lowering his voice. "You know, you weren't always scared of me, Lenny."

"I'm sure I wasn't."


	5. Dreams

_"Lenara?"_

 _My mother sat on one end of the table. She was a tall woman, quite thin with a milky complexion and violet hair. Her nose was narrow, and her cheeks high. The name "Volaria" fit her so well. It was strong and commanding. Volaria…_

 _She ate delicately and sweetly, like a princess. I wanted to be like her, but the more I looked at my father, the more I realized I was like him. He was of average height, with thin legs yet broad shoulders. His nose was like mothers, but his smile was wide and his lips were full. We had the same eyes._

 _There was an empty placement at the square table. There was_ always _an empty spot. I had no brothers or sisters to fill it. It was just me and my parents. Sometimes my Uncle came along for a cup of tea. Wait…who is that?_

 _That's not my Uncle sitting in front of me._

 _The person was wearing a heavy cloak over their head, casting a shadow over their nose. I could only see the lining of lips. I shuddered at the sight, wondering if death had come to take me._

 _"Lenara." The lips moved. The voice was so ambiguous; I could not tell if it was male or female. When I looked up to my parents, they were completely frozen, staring into each other's eyes without any sign of life. I was alone._

 _"Who are you?" I questioned. "Tell me who you are."_

 _"Are you safe?"_

 _The question took me by surprise._

 _"Y-Yes, I am safe." I said._

 _"Lenara?"_

"Lenny, are you okay?"

I raised my head, swiftly pulling myself from the dream and whispering "Fuck." Gowther was there, strangely rubbing my back as we sat at the bar.

"We need to look at your bandages."

Immediately, I followed Gowther up to my room. Ban and Meliodas shot us a quick glance before continuing their conversation at the bar. Somehow, I still felt Ban's eyes run up my back.

"I don't hurt." I assured him as I sat upon the bed, gently lifting the sweater. Gowther lightly poked beneath the bandages to examine the skin beneath.

"You're some kind of witch."

I laughed nervously. "That's funny."

Gowther's big eyes peaked over the top of his glasses. No, he wasn't kidding. Gowther just wasn't that kind of person. His words meant exactly what they meant. I felt his pale fingers leave my waist before helping pull down the garment. "We all know that by now, Lenny."

What could I say to him? Sure the display down by the bar was pretty weird, but it wasn't anything my father couldn't do. Magic was somewhat of a common ability, but calling me a witch was taking it a little bit too far for my taste.

"Have you ever wondered if there's a reason you can't remember your childhood?" He asked calmly, running a hand through his hair.

"I had an accident." I assured him. "But if there's something you would like to tell me, then by all means."

Gowther shrugged. "It's something for you to ponder."

He walked away without another sound, leaving me by myself. I threw myself onto the bed and sighed into the pillow. I was completely drained; mentally and physically. Maybe it was something I really should wonder about. After all, Meliodas did mention something about my mother going on a mission. What could she have been doing, anyways? Mom was…

 _Mom was so simple. Well, not really. Maybe that's what scares me. Mom was too simple. Are there bits and pieces of her that I could put together, like a puzzle? Is there a bigger picture to her that I'm not seeing?_

 _What about that dream? Who was in that dream?_

I held my hand in the air. _I need that book._

I thought it, and I had it. The pages flapped in the air as it floated my way, just as I commanded in my head. With haste, I flipped through the pages in search of something…different. No, I had no idea what I was looking for. Every word seemed relative to preparing and cooking food. I smacked my head in frustration. Gowther's comment was driving me insane. At this point, I couldn't even remember the accident that caused my memories to disappear.

My head ached so terribly. That dream had somehow sucked out all of the energy I had. I was over-whelmed at this point, searching through my head for answers and finding absolutely nothing. I didn't even want to go back downstairs. Somehow, I found myself becoming depressed and disillusioned to my purpose of being here.

Mom and Dad were hiding something from me. Something from my past must have endangered me so terribly, that they had to make me forget. But, could it have caught up to me? Is that why, now, I find myself traveling the roads with Kovak?

I threw my tired head into the pillow and fluttered my lashes, lolling my head to the side as I felt myself drift away in depressed thoughts and answerless questions.

"You've been asleep for too long."

My eyes widened at the sound of the voice and birds chirping beside the open window. I felt groggy and grey, shaking my dead arm back to life. I slept hard, into the evening and clear through the morning. A sharp pain pounded into my head as I lifted my eyes to see King, resting on his pillow.

"I'm sorry, I guess I…I don't know." I mumbled. "What's everyone up to?"

King stretched his limbs. "We moved this morning. Meliodas was pretty impressed with our profits, so we're having a camp out. Elizabeth left some clothes for you around here…somewhere."

"Hmmm." I groaned, rolling my neck from side to side. "Sure, I'll be around."

"Lenny?"

"What?"

King peeked out the open window. "You talk in your sleep." He quipped before heading out. _Weird._

Eventually, I found the clothes Elizabeth set out for me and put them on. The thin green v-neck was plain and comfortable, but the white shorts were a smidge tighter than I would have liked. I trotted down to the bar and fixed up a glass of water, chugging until streams ran down my cheeks. Goodness, I was sloppy this morning! I ran my fingers through somewhat greasy hair as I bolted through the door, frantically trying to make myself look a little presentable to whoever was near.

The tavern was right next to a lake, shimmering with a crystal like reflection. Diane was the next thing in my line of sight, resting her back against a hill as she lay beneath the sun with arms behind her back.

"Sleeping beauty has awoken!" I heard Meliodas say. His pants were rolled up quite high with his feet in the very shallow end of the lake. Elizabeth stood next to him, waving sweetly while gripping a fishing pole in her other hand.

"Fish fry?" I laughed as I headed over.

"That sounds like a great idea, any kind of fry is better than a pork fry." I heard Hawk mumble as he sauntered past me and rolled into the water. I caught King in the corner of my eye as he comforted himself next to Diane, resting on his Chastiefol in the exact manner as she. I worried that they may burn beneath the sun.

"Where's Ban?" I asked, sitting next to Elizabeth with my feet in the water. She frowned when a potential catch released the bait.

"He probably went to catch a chicken with his teeth." Meliodas shrugged, pretending to yawn before putting his arm around Elizabeth.

"I don't know why you're faking it; you're never shy about grabbing Elizabeth any other time." I noted out loud.

"Women." He sighed, squeezing her shoulder.

Elizabeth erupted. "Sir Meliodas! I almost had one that time! How are we going to eat if I can't catch any fish?"

"I just said Ban was catching chickens with his…"

A booming "Ahh!" filled the air before we quickly spotted a figure running across the green grass. Diane and King woke themselves up as the three of us by the lake squinted in the distance. Hawk snorted and jumped from the water.

"Tell me that's not…"

Spiked pale hair? Check.

Red leather clothes? Nope.

Naked Ban took long strides across the field, gathering a good running start before leaping into the air and splashing directly into the lake. My eyes closed and my face flushed as I glanced away, hoping like hell no one would notice how I stared beforehand.

"Ban!" Meliodas called. "Why are you naked?"

"Why _aren't_ you naked?" Ban called back.

 _Oh shit, Meliodas do not take that invitation._

When I looked up, I saw a vest and a pair of pants fling into the air. Elizabeth gasped and hid behind me with red cheeks, still clutching her fishing pole. Diane squealed, King groaned, and I laughed awkwardly.

He took the invitation.


	6. Mothers and Girl Talks

**AN:** So I'm horrible and haven't updated, but that's because I literally just moved to a new state. Had a little bad luck with the job I was supposed to have, but enough of that. This starts as a flashback. Thanks for understanding, guys!

 _Meliodas and Ban downed their drinks; purple ale streaming down the sides of their mouths. Meliodas burped loudly, not even bothering to excuse himself while pretty girls bustled by. Ban took no notice either. He sighed heavily, red eyes narrowing down to their table outdoors. His long, shimmery hair fluttered lightly with the wind._

 _"I'm so tired, Captain." Ban finally said, tapping his finger on the edge of the cup._

 _Meliodas shrugged his shoulders. "Really? Can't you just use Fox Hunt on some poor sucker? Didn't stop you before."_

 _Meliodas felt a presence pause behind him._

 _"Was that Bucharest?" A pretty woman asked._

 _"No, it was Edinburgh. Close though." Meliodas quipped with a wink. The woman pulled up a chair between the two, running her delicate fingers through her hair._

 _She chortled at Ban and poked fun at his sleepy demeanor. "You might have used Fox Hunt on Lenara and still left her with plenty of energy for the both of you."_

 _Ban smiled at Volaria, nodding his head. "We cooked the other day. She's little, but she's actually pretty good at it."_

 _Volaria grinned wide, but her lips fell like she suddenly tasted a foul secret. "Little Lenara is a sweet girl, but she is a handful," she sighed. Her long fingers wrapped around the bottle of ale, startling the two Sins as they watched her take a swig. She lowered it back, licking her lips._

 _"I must go. Ban, I trust you will be watching her tomorrow?" Volaria asked._

 _Ban nodded. "Yes ma'm."_

 _"Good." She smoothed out the folds in her lemon colored gown. "I'll be out on the King's orders. It's going to be a long few days."_

 _Volaria smiled and bid them farewell. Meliodas watched her hair swing back and forth as she walked. Ban snapped his fingers, commanding his captain's attention._

 _"Since when does the King send the castle chef's wife out on special orders?" Ban questioned, suddenly regaining his energy._

 _Meliodas tapped his chin. "I don't know, but Volaria knows we wouldn't run our mouths with that information. Maybe, she just wanted us to know in case something happened to her."_

 _Ban sunk back into his chair. "I hope nothing happens. They're good people, you know?"_

 _Meliodas filled his cup before taking another swig. He tried to spot Volaria in the crowd, but missed her. She was too quick for him._

 _"Yeah. They are good people_

Diane, Elizabeth and I were given the task of starting a fire. Meliodas insisted we needed some girl time while the rest of them ran off to catch something tasty.

"They wouldn't need to catch anything if Meliodas let me fish." Elizabeth whined, arms full of branches.

Diane giggled. "Hey, I don't mind. It's kind of nice for us girls to hang out."

I stayed silent with the bundle in my arms. We threw them into the pile and stood around for a moment, contemplating what to do next. "Lenny? Do you know how to start a fire?"

"It's been awhile." I said, and knelt down to search for a couple good sticks.

I rubbed my hands raw, but eventually got it going. It was a bit of a trial to actually keep it going, but we persisted. Once that was done, Diane threw herself onto King's chastiefol.

"He let you keep that?" I asked with a laugh, tossing another stick into the fire.

"Yeah, he's really sweet, isn't he?"

"Did you see the look on his face when Ban and Meliodas pulled him in the water?" Elizabeth laughed, covering her red cheeks.

"He said something touched his leg, and he didn't think it was a fish." I grinned. Diane sunk further back, filling the air with her laughter.

"Probably a worm." Elizabeth quipped. My mouth opened in shock. I didn't know she had such a sense of humor.

"A massive worm." Diane replied.

I raised my brow. "Did they leave you two with a bottle of ale?"

"No." Diane assured me. "We just never get to talk about those things. Is it crude?"

I shook my head. "Meliodas grabs Elizabeth every time he sees her. I really don't think discussing the size of their packages is that terrible." I assured her.

"I agree!" Elizabeth stomped her foot. "I mean, I've gotten used to it..."

"So now that we're talking about it." Diane crossed her arms and a sly grin appeared with a twinkle in her eye. "So who do you guys think is bigger?"

Silence.

"Well..." I started. "Out of Gowther, King, Ban _and_ Meliodas?"

Diane nodded her head. Fire crackled in the air as we all thought to ourselves.

"I'm going to go on a whim and say Gowther." I spoke softly.

"Meliodas." Diane said. "He's a small guy. Isn't that how those things work?"

"If that's how it works, then King would have the biggest..." Elizabeth trailed off. Diane's face flushed red when she realized Elizabeth made sense.

Diane raised her hands. "Okay, okay! Final guesses?"

Elizabeth sighed. "King."

"Meliodas" Diane persisted.

"Gowther." I answered.

"Not Ban?" Elizabeth asked. My eyes widened.

"W-why would you ask?"

"I thought you liked him." Elizabeth giggled, throwing her silvery locks over her shoulder.

I twisted my lips and shook my head. "Well now just because..."

"Aww she's turning red!" Diane pestered

The fire started going out again, and I ran out of sticks. "I'm heading off. I'll be right back" I assured them with a wave. As I headed to the wooded area, I could hear them giggle about my red cheeks. Really, I hadn't had _that_ kind of conversation before.

"I should have made Kovak stay with me." I sighed, remembering how Meliodas insisted that Hawk and Kovak needed to bond. Had the moon not been so full, I would have gotten lost already. I was only twenty feet deep into the woods, but I wasn't going much further. I grabbed a couple of small sticks on the ground before I heard a sharp snap.

"Fuck." I whispered on instinct. My mother wouldn't have appreciated the words I picked up over the years.

"Calm down." I heard a deep voice and I dropped my sticks. Ban's flashy red outfit glared underneath the moonlight. I sighed in relief, thankful I wasn't about to be ripped to shreds by some carnivore. _How am I supposed to look at this man with a straight face when I was just talking about his manly parts?_

"What are you doing? We've got the fire going, shouldn't you be getting food?" I pestered.

"If you've got the fire going, then why are you looking for more sticks?"

"I didn't say it was going _well._ "

He laughed and put his hands on his hips. "The others are bringing rabbits now. I just couldn't pass up the chance to scare you." Ban roughly scratched the top of my head.

"That might have been cute when I was seven."

"You're sharp tonight. Do you need a drink?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. Did you leave behind a bottle?"

"Why do you ask?"

I started walking the other direction when Ban twirled me around, pushing me to walk deeper into the woods with him.

"Nothing."

"Whatever, we totally heard you guys talking about our dicks." Ban boasted. "Also, mine's biggest. I'm like, six feet and seven inches. Tall guys have huge dicks."

"I don't know why I brought this up." I laughed, feeling my cheeks burn. "Also, you say yours is the biggest. So does that mean you've seen Gowther, Meliodas, and King's?"

 _Lenny, please stop! You're on a roll, and it's not a good one._

Ban stopped suddenly, putting his hand back on my head and letting it fall to my neck. "You're as cute as you've always been." He gave my neck a squeeze and I felt him move closer, leaning down to kiss my forehead. Ban lingered for a minute, pressing his lips down again. "Even when you're talking about silly things."

I looked up and smiled. He took my hand and started leading me back to the fire. "Come on. Let's go eat some of those rabbits I caught with my teeth."


	7. Tears of Vanilla Pine

When I woke up, I was smashed between Gowther and Ban inside a lopsided tent. Ban's shoulder was jammed on the side of my jaw, creating quite an uncomfortable ache in my neck. Gowther's pink locks fluttered in my eyes and I had a tart taste in my mouth. Quietly, I wedged myself out, clumsily ducking out and into the wilderness like a hot mess. Meliodas sat quietly by the lake with a fishing pole in hand.

"Hey." I groaned with a bit of grog in my voice and plopped next to him.

"Hey Lenny. Did you have fun last night?" He asked, keeping his eye at the end of his line.

I shrugged, wiping the sleep from my eyes. "Sure. We could have slept in the Boar Hat, though."

"Gotta change it up every now and then." He laughed. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

I felt heat rise in my chest. Meliodas was staring at me with an unwavering grin, adding more tension to my nerves. "Sure."

"Have you considered trying to find out what happened to your parents?" He asked, softening his voice. The question sank in my stomach like a pound of bricks.

I shrugged. "I can't look in the direction anymore, Meliodas. I felt like-like if I stop…" I trailed off, feeling my eyes water as I forced my face straight ahead. "If I stop moving forward, if I paused my life to research the past, then I don't think I will be able to put myself back together."

My teeth gritted together like heavy stone as I stared blankly into the water. I could feel his somber expression fixated on me; soft with empathy but still confused. "Maybe you can't go forward, because you need to go back."

I broke free of my shell, just for a moment. I swallowed the heat in my throat and tried to cough, but it sounded more like a cry. "Can we go wake the others now?"

* * *

Ban happily walked through the door with a dead pig under his arm; one that resembled Hawk a little too much, sans size. I cracked half a dozen eggs into the cast iron skillet before Ban slung the heavy animal onto the counter.

Hawk squealed "This is sick, Ban! How do we know that's not a cousin of mine?"

Ban pulled out a large knife; tongue hanging out of his half open mouth. "Sorry, Master. I'm hoping your cousin makes for a real good breakfast." His hand came down forcefully. I had to look away.

"If you feed me those scraps, I'll never forgive you." Hawk huffed before bouncing away.

Ban reeked sweetly of sweat, pine, and dirt. I liked it very much. "Ham and eggs?" He purred deeply, nudging me with his elbow. I grabbed the seasoning. He cleaned the meat.

I glanced up for just a moment to see Elizabeth sweeping the wooden floor, creating considerable clouds of dust in the air. Diane migrated from the table to the bar, resting her head in her hand as she sighed. "Elizabeth thinks we have to clean every time we move the Boar Hat."

"We're moving again?" Ban questioned; his voice laced in complete annoyance.

"Yeah, I thought Lenny would have told you. We're going to find out what happened to her parents."

My head started ringing. "Excuse me? What are you talking about?"

Diane's eyes watered as Elizabeth's cloud of dust swooped over her. She pulled her lips into her mouth, probably scared she would continue to bury herself with her words.

"Meliodas!" I shrieked. There was a moment of silence as I glared up the stairs, and suddenly a pan dropped. The smell of burnt eggs filled my nose, and then the yellow haired lad came strolling down. I didn't even notice that King and Gowther had burst through the front door until later.

"Well hello you guys. Sorry, had to take a morning nap."

The muscles in my face tightened. "Wha-"

Meliodas held up a finger to silence me. I zipped my mouth shut, fearing what he would do if I hadn't. "Sorry, Lenara. Frankly, if you don't want to find out what happened to your family, then that's your choice. But, I want to find out what happened to my friends." His face had turned dark. "There's something fishy going on here, and I want to know what it is."

I desperately wanted to argue with him. How I wanted to scream at him for making that decision behind my back. Would I have been this angry if he had told me? Did he even ask? _Yes, Lenny. Meliodas tried._

Yes, I was filled to the brim with anger. I looked at all of their sad and confused faces. Diane was dreaded with guilt. Elizabeth's eyes were full of pity. Meliodas turned anger into emptiness, and Ban…

I actually didn't even look at him.

I bit the inside of my cheeks and walked away, up the stairs, and flopped onto a bed. Sometime later I heard Meliodas speaking, and I felt the Boar Hat begin to shift. I cried into the pillow like a baby. My parents were never dead to me. I never allowed myself to look the thought straight in the eye until Meliodas forced me. He made me stop, even though it was only with a few sentences. Finally, I'm stopping. I'm feeling everything all at once, and it is both beautiful and gut-wrenchingly painful.

My eyes were closed, and I breathed easy at rest. I can't remember the full extent of my dreams, but they were sweet. They were the kind of dreams full of peach yellow sweetness in the sky; the taste of pure vanilla and the warmth of a bare chest.

He placed his hand on my back, and I could still taste that sweetness, along with the smell of sweat and dirt. I didn't open my eyes.

* * *

 _"Pretty little girl." The man said to my mother. I held her hand tightly in fear. We were alone; as alone as we could be with this other man. I could remember how lovely he was. It was strange to use the word lovely to describe a man. I was tiny back then, and I hadn't yet developed the capacity to fall for someone in a grown-up way. Yes, he was lovely, sharp, and silver. I couldn't even look at him for too long._

 _"How could you do this? This is highly inappropriate. I don't appreciate you following me, especially when I have my daughter." As my mother spoke, I could feel his eyes flicker on me. It was only a flicker, but somehow it felt like more. The sound of crickets in the forest violated the sudden silence of the air. I hid behind my mom in fear._

 _"She'll be fine. She has enough magic inside her to protect herself, with or without you."_

 _Mom raised her hand and delivered a gruesome slap to the man's face. He only laughed as I cowered beneath her. The trees began to shake, but he was still laughing. "Mom?"_

 _There were snaps, and the wind picked up. I covered my ears and closed my eyes. Still, I could hear their muffled words through my fingers._

 _"I loathe you." I heard her spit at him. It was so uncharacteristic of my mother. She picked me up, threw me over her shoulder, and walked away._


	8. Paper Love

Kovak licked my face and slobbered on my bare legs. I twisted my lips in disgust, wiping the cold liquid away. He stared at me, mouth hanging open in a goofy smile. I ran my fingers down his back and gave him a rough scratch. I couldn't help but smile back at him. Something about the animal made me feel…valued. I have found that animals carry love in the purest form. They don't calculate your intentions or question who you are. That's why it's disgusting to betray them. They'll never break your heart, but they'll never know why you broke theirs.

"We should just start at the beginning." Meliodas said at the bar table.

"Well Bartra probably knows something." Diane shrugged.

King walked in the room. "Hey Diane? Are you ever going to be tall again?"

I watched Diane frown from the barstool. She sat between Meliodas and Ban, staring down the center of the table. I don't think she knew how to answer the question, and I understood it was a self esteem issue for her. She scared me the first time I met her, I remember that quite well. Yet, I knew I would never meet another person like Diane.

"Sure. I guess it's just convenient to be little for now. We're not doing much fighting anyways." Diane responded in a small voice. I wanted to reassure her, but I decided to stay out of it.

"I just thought I'd ask. You…know I like you either way." King turned red as a rose. Diane blushed.

Ban took a big gulp of his drink. "Anyways," he said rather loudly before turning to look at me. "Still in pajamas?"

I nodded my head, sipping on a hot cup of tea. Elizabeth had let me borrow a short lilac nightdress. She said I was sleep walking; sweating like Hawk under the heat of Ban's cooking. I didn't really remember it.

"Alright then, let's go." Meliodas grinned and headed to the door.

"Meliodas? Where are we?" I questioned.

"The village where you grew up."

I raised my brow.

"What? You think no one told us where you lived?"

I shrugged. "I guess if we're here, we could open up the Boar Hat."

"Noooo." Ban chimed in, tossing me a jacket. "We're closed today."

I frowned and zipped up the blue jacket. The thought of home made me feel nostalgic yet uncomfortable. Would anyone recognize me? _Oh my god, what if they were looking for me?_

No one waited for me, not even Ban. That burned me a little, but it pushed me out the door. I felt a brief chill the moment I set foot outside, and raised my hand to block the sunshine in my eyes. The grass below my feet was mostly dead and dying. Looking straight ahead, I saw the group strolling down the dreary main road. Their laughter started to blend together, and I couldn't tell them apart anymore. The buildings had been poorly maintained, with random bricks on the side of the streets.

My feet moved. I couldn't remember the place for the life of me, but I could feel the sadness. It was almost like the old place was crying. You could see that the buildings used to be tall, but most of the roofs had been caved in without a fix. I slid my finger across the walls as I walked, trying my hardest to recollect anything from before. My memories from the kingdom had been completely wiped, but why were my memories from the village so elusive?

"I don't even remember the name." I said out loud. The group ahead of me slowed down.

"King and Diane should search that way; between those trees. It looks like there's a path." Gowther suggested, pointing to the right, just ahead of another dilapidated building.

"Great! Why don't you and I take Elizabeth to look around that gazebo? It looks the least run down out of all the places here." Meliodas snaked his hand around Elizabeth's waist, inciting a quiet squeak from her mouth. He was right; the gazebo was in good shape. I stepped back, squinting my eyes at the pearly steps.

 _"I don't like it, Mom."_

 _She spun her finger in the air, and I found my legs twirling without my command. "Mom! We're in public." I huffed and smoothed out the pink dress before plopping down beside her on the bench. "Where's dad, anyways?"_

 _"He had to make a delivery. You know how he gets when he starts talking." She said with a sigh._

 _A little boy, less than two years old, ran happily across the emerald grass. His young mother struggled to chase after him as he laughed all the way to the steps. He stopped, and with a fierce look of determination, crawled his way up. Mom and I watched, as did his mother. When he finally made it, he held his hands in the air and squealed in utter joy. Mom and I clapped._

"I guess it's just you and me, kiddo."

"What?"

Everyone was gone, except for Ban. _Well they did that on purpose, didn't they?_

"Sorry, I just don't remember this place as well as I should." I admitted. "Maybe I could try to find the bakery or where it was I mean."

Ban glanced around. "Alright let's see what we can find."

I lead Ban down the street, taking a left and headed down the next sidewalk. The site was quite similar to the first, except there were less buildings and more dead grass. Everything was gray, dead, or broken. My mind felt like a broken clock until my feet met the bare ground. That's when I remembered running from the place I used to live.

The church was still intact, except for the blowouts where the stained glass windows had been. Ban followed me as I snaked behind it and set my eyes on the blackened lot. "It looks like it just burnt yesterday." I told him. I walked past what should have been the door, but was instead a pile of ash and burnt wood. Suddenly I could see the layout again. I could see where we used to sit and have dinner. That's when I saw _him._

"The silver man." I mumbled, looking at the former dining room. "He ate dinner with us once."

Ban stepped over some brick. "Who's the silver man?" He wiped ash from his pants.

"He might just be something inside my head." I told him, feeling stupid. I didn't know it for a fact. The silver man my mother talked to _had_ to have been the one in my dream at the table. _Lenny, you didn't see him. His face was covered, how can you know it was him?_

"Tell me about him. Is he handsome like me?" Ban asked, taking a few steps ahead of me. "Anyways, I think this is a bust. Maybe we should head back."

"No, let's look a little more." There was something that caught my eye, shining in a pile of ash where my bedroom used to me. I stepped forward, lightly pushing Ban out of the way. I knelt down into the pile, covering myself in ash nearly to my chest.

"The wind should have blown it all away." Ban commented. I felt his eyes in my back, and then a hand on my shoulder. The silver in the pile shimmered as I wiped it clean.

"It's just a tube of lipstick." I sighed, disappointed.

"There's something inside." Ban whispered, stretching his arms over me to grab the tube. He lightly pulled out a thin piece of paper from inside of the tube and placed it in my palm. "You should read it first."

It felt like a used napkin. I had no idea how it could have possibly survived the fire, but it did. Without waiting much longer, I held it close and carefully spread the paper over my knee. I could feel the brush of Ban's chin on my shoulder as he looked away.

 _My little Amethyst, I have found you._

"Huh." I said flatly. It wasn't a question, more like a dead end. I read it out loud to Ban, but he didn't feel the same way.

"Someone was after her; that's why you all left. Whoever wrote this note got to her."

"She kept it in a lipstick tube." I shivered. "Why does that make me feel so uncomfortable?"

"Hey!" We heard a shout. Elizabeth was swinging her arm in the air by the church. "We found people!"

Ban kindly helped me stand and we bolted from the bakery. We chased Elizabeth back to the gazebo to find everyone had converged with a red-headed woman. She sat on the steps, speaking quietly with Meliodas. She was dressed in a thick black gown, as if she were in mourning. I noticed a single tear run down her jaw line.

"I only come here when I feel the need. Today has just been…one of those days." She whispered in a raspy voice. The woman wasn't old by any means, but her melancholy eyes showed that she had seen too much. Her voice must have choked back too many tears.

"Mila, this is our friend we were talking about. Do you remember her?" Meliodas asked; his voice much too happy. By the look on her face, I thought she wanted to rip the cheer from his throat. Instead, she rose her frigid eyes to me, lingering over every inch. I felt naked.

"Your mother had no business doing what she did." She started in on me; her voice turning from weak to cold. "We all knew, but to get involved was nothing short of a death wish."

I could feel Ban tense up next to me as I began to speak. "Please, I don't understand. Tell me what you know about my mom." My hands clasped together in front of me. I felt like I was begging.

She stood up slowly, and I admit that I stepped back in fear of her. A slap to the face would have felt so much better than the horror that flew from her mouth. "My son burned alive after the fire spread. I hope that he died of smoke inhalation before the roof caved in and crushed his tiny body." Mila's tears were flowing freely at this point before she paused and gritted her teeth. "In fact, it's the only thing that helps me sleep at night, hoping he died painlessly. But what I _do_ know is that your mother brought this evil on our village. She brought that _demon_ to us and we all paid for her sins."

I swallowed my pain, and she controlled hers. Gowther stood behind Diane and we locked eyes. I'm not sure how, but I felt like he was comforting me, maybe even transferring his energy. Whatever it was, it was just enough for me to ask one more question. "Mila, what was the demons name?"

"I don't know. She only ever called him Love."


	9. Shards of The Dead

_AN: Sorry guys, it's a short chapter but it's putting some things in motion_

"I need a drink." I sighed, dragging my feet across the dead grass.

"Me too." Ban agreed. It started raining heavily, only a moment after the clouds rolled in. Everyone started running to the Boar Hat, but I continued to drag along. _What did my mother do? Who did she know? She brought destruction to the village and I can't find out why._

"Lenny!" Ban shouted. I felt him pick me up and throw me over his shoulder. God he was so tall. The ground seemed so far away from my dangling arms. He let me down the second we got inside. Hawk rolled around, laughing at our drenched clothes. "Jeez guys, I guess it was a good thing I decided to stay here!"

"Pork chili sounds great with this cold weather." Meliodas chirped, ignoring Hawk's protests. The pig rolled around in terror and squeals. I walked behind the bar and found myself pouring cup after cup of ale. Each time I tried to take a sip, a different sin would swing around and say "Where's mine?"

"She was having an affair." I said out loud. "Isn't it obvious?" I felt their eyes on me, full of pity and confirmation.

Meliodas sighed as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "Yeah, we had some suspicions. They just weren't strong enough to mention to you before."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, attempting to hide anger in my voice by softening my face. Ban shrugged, seemingly trying to avoid the conversation by hiding behind his cup. I stared him down like a puppy. Poor guy probably wished he could have finished one drink before answering questions. "Well I mean she _was_ gone all the time because Bartra sent her somewhere…or so she said."

"I sensed something from her one night." Meliodas told me. Ban gritted his teeth nervously and shot him a look. "I need to g-"

"No, you stay." Meliodas grabbed Ban and forced him back onto the bar stool.

"Hey Diane! Let's go upstairs and…" Elizabeth trailed off. She whispered something in Diane's ear and they hurried up the stairs. They didn't want to be around for this conversation just as much as Ban.

"King, I need your assistance. I would like to design new outfits for the Boar Hat poster girls. I'm quite deter-"

"Let's go." King grabbed Gowthers shoulder and followed the other two up the stairs. I poured Ban another cup of liquid courage.

Meliodas stretched his arms before speaking. "It happened around the time Ban and King started babysitting you. There was a huge festival in Liones to celebrate the harvest. Your dad had a pretty big booth selling his baked goods, and your mom suddenly disappeared. He got so busy, he just couldn't handle watching you anymore, so King stepped in and took you." He paused, distracted by Hawk's sudden snores.

"Go on." I urged.

"After a while, we took you to the courtyard so you could play with Gilthunder and Elizabeth. Mostly, Ban just wanted to get drunk and didn't want to be at fault if something happened to you,"

Ban snorted. "Dickhead."

"Anyways, your mom came in looking for you not long after. She…looked like she had been crying. But, there was some kind of aura around her."

"What kind of aura?"

"It was a protective aura, but I could tell it wasn't from her."

Suddenly Gowther appeared from the stairs, wearing his usual blank expression and twiddling with the tendrils of his hair. "We need to leave. Now."

Ban snorted. "Really? What's got your-."

"Seriously, guys we have to go!" King interrupted, pink faced and distressed. I watched him point to the curtain covered window in terror. Medliodas and Ban raced over, shoving each other out of the way so they could get a good look. Before I got up to look, Meliodas was already shouting for Hawks mom, and the ground beneath me began to shake.

"Shit, what is it?" I said into the window next to Ban. I felt his warm breath on my cheek as I watched the fog of grey in the distance. The longer I looked, the more I could make out the dark outlines of their bodies. The ashen flesh melted off their faces, revealing broken bones and ripped tendons beneath. Their expressions were lifeless, but from the movements of their bodies, I could tell they were coming for us.

"We're out of here!" I heard Meliodas. Suddenly I was jolted and I heard a shatter. My body was flying, but saved by a tight grip around the wrist.

"God damn it! Lenny, hold on!" I heard Ban scream.

I kept my eyes shut so tight, fearing that the flowing liquid on my face was blood and not rain. The cold air wrapped around my body and squeezed. I couldn't breathe, even as Ban slowly pulled me back. His hands moved from my arms to my waist, holding so tight to keep me from falling.

"Board it up!" I heard through muffled ears. Nails were swiftly pounded into boards as I carefully opened my eyes, seeing Ban hovering over with a cloth in his hand. "Shit, there's a lot of glass."

"I can pick it out." Gowther assured.

"Oh my god, Lenny!" I heard a feminine voice say, but I wasn't sure if it was Elizabeth or Diane. I stared upwards, watching Ban and Gowther move around over me. That was when I felt the searing pain in my collarbone. Carefully, I raised my finger and felt a massive shard. It stretched across my chest.

"It's not that bad, babe. It's not that bad." Ban whispered fearfully. He was lying, and I could see it all over his face. Ban's red eyes were slits, filling with fear. I gasped for air and felt the tears streaming down my face.

I was going to die.


	10. The Crimson Pig

_AN: Hey guys, I just wanted to thank everyone for the follows, faves, and reviews. That means a lot, and I hope you come to enjoy upcoming chapters. I would also like to apologize since some are not happy that Ban is paired with an OC in this story and not Elaine. I feel that there are plenty of wonderful stories containing Elaine and I would encourage you to seek them out. This is a fanfiction which I have chosen to include an original character of my own. Of course, the word fanfiction explains itself. Again, I would like to apologize. Writing this is a practice for me, and tends to work very well when I have trouble working on my main piece. So thank you all for taking the time, even if you were mislead or surprised by the contents._

"Hey, kid. We thought you were dead."

My eyes flew open at the sound. Ban sat by my side with a crooked smile. I was terrified to move, unsure of the entirety of my injuries. Yet, I felt completely numb. I blinked my eyes over and over again, trying to picture something else besides the ceiling and Ban in my peripheral vision. Despite the loss of feeling in my body, I felt all too much; my mother's betrayal being the pivotal point. My mind was eluding me, twisted with worry and sadness.

With every minute that passed I could hear a page turn. In the corner of my eye, I could see Ban move his fingers and stroke the spine of the book. I suddenly felt sweat from the nerves and decided to raise my head for a moment. Tiny scratches were scattered across my shoulders and upper arms. My chest was completely wrapped in a lilac velvet cloth, all the way up to my neck. I knew it was magic; it had to be the only thing keeping me from feeling any pain.

"Don't move. Merlin said any sudden movements will throw you off balance."

"Merlin?" I whispered.

"Present." I heard a sultry voice. "Ban, please assist her. She can sit up."

Ban eased me up. I craned my forehead into his neck for support, but I'll admit I also did it because his scent made me feel secure. His hair brushed my nose and I felt him put a pillow behind me. The scantily clad Merlin seated herself at the end of the bed, lightly touching the sheets as she watched me. I admired her beauty and her aura of confidence. She wore the most brilliant purple, hardly covering her breasts. Her shorts fit snug right off her hips. Merlin looked perfect, and I could sense that she was incredibly strong.

"You're going to be fine, Lenara. If I had arrived a moment later you probably wouldn't have made it."

"The Boar sin." I whispered, catching a glimpse of her tattoo.

"Which means I _also_ knew your mother." She winked at me. "Meliodas filled me in on what was happening. I will say, it seems you've been quite exercised in your magical capabilities."

"Too bad I couldn't stop that glass." I chuckled lightheartedly.

"It wasn't your fault." Ban said between his teeth. "This wouldn't have happened if those zombies didn't come out of nowhere."

Merlin wagged her finger at Ban. "Now, she has a point. She needs to expand her ability, Ban. Volaria would have easily dismissed such an accident without any trouble."

"Merlin, do you know what that was?" I asked, thinking back to the grey horde.

She grinned. "I came as soon as I sensed it. Ban's correct in a sense; the dead were evidently triggered by your return."

I heard a scratch before the door pushed open. Kovak trotted around the bed and hopped onto the edge gazing at me with big bright eyes. With all the anxiety I was having, I couldn't even remember the last time I saw him. I felt like a terrible mother, but I knew he could stand his ground if need be. I leaned over just a bit for him to move closer, allowing me to scratch his ears.

"They sensed magic." I said flatly.

"Your abilities _are_ similar to your mother's." Merlin replied, stretching her fingers across Kovak's back. She gave him a nice scratch before he rolled over, tongue flopping out of his toothy grin. "I'd like you to come with me, Lenara. Unfortunately, my last apprentice got a little…cursed."

Ban raised his brow. "She should stay with us, Merlin. Captain seems kind of worried."

"I understand, Ban. However, I feel that it's necessary to educate her instead of allowing her abilities to wane or spiral out of control. Lenara, what do you think?"

I felt trapped by the question; a little uneasy that she continued to call me by my full name. Still, Merlin was a member of the seven deadly sins; she had to be someone I could trust. Ban looked at me a little blankly, and Merlin was studying my reaction with splendorous eyes. "I think I should go with Merlin."

* * *

"Bye, Lenny!" Elizabeth called out.

"Bring me a souvenir!" Diane laughed. "Wait, where are they going?" I heard her ask Elizabeth. She shrugged in response before shrieking at the squeeze around her bum.

"Well Elizabeth, I guess that means we've got a little more privacy." The captain squealed. Surprisingly, Diane didn't over react to the comment. Instead, I watched her follow King inside with a smile on her face. Everyone else followed, but Ban lagged behind with a sulky posture.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Merlin assured me. "I can teleport us anywhere, anytime."

Kovak brushed his forehead across my fingertips before giving them a good lick. "You insisted I bring him with us. Why is that?"

"Lenara, you're going to ask a lot of questions. They'll all be answered in time, I promise."

I blinked and everything changed. The Boar Hat disappeared from behind us, and all of the trees were gone. I stood in an open field with Merlin, scanning the distant mountains and open skies. There wasn't a bird or a bug in sight, and it was deathly quiet. While the location was lovely in appearance, the silence and lack of movement bothered me.

 _"Shunkan Ido."_ Merlin breathed. "This is the teleportation spell I've used to take us to Camelot."

"Merlin, why is it so quiet here?"

"It's the perfect place for us to concentrate. Unfortunately, I block out everything else around me when I'm focused on my abilities. I have found that training here is adequate since there aren't many surprises."

I looked down at my feet and concentrated on a blade of grass. With a pinky, I levitated it into the air and wrapped it around my finger. Merlin watched as I split it into half. "So where do we start?"

Merlin laughed and crossed her arms. "I'm going to try and kill you, but you'll need to defend yourself."

My eyes grew wide as she took a few steps back, urging me to run with her fingers. Kovak stayed behind with her, much to my surprise. I thought he would come to my aide, but I was thankful he didn't. My slow jog sped up to a complete sprint once I realized the beam in her hand was nothing to joke about. Merlin was dead serious, and I was going to be dead in a minute if I didn't do anything about it.

"Let's see if you can try to dodge my shock stinger!" She called out.

"Fuck." I whispered.

 _Craaack!_

My eyes were tightly closed at impact, yet I didn't feel a thing. I watched the shock set fire to a precise target upon the ground, cracking beneath my feet.

"So you can fly." She laughed.

"Somehow I think I've done this before."

"Well let's do something you haven't. Concentrate for a moment in the air, and figure out how you're going to deflect these." Again, she took a few steps back and readied her palms for more lightning bolts. I started to panic. How the hell was I going to deflect her magic? Sure, I could levitate objects, but…

I heard another massive crack, but I could feel the release as I quickly crossed my arms over my chest. Had I been a second later, I would have been obliterated. I was quite lucky that time, I thought. When I looked down, I noticed Merlin standing below with a strange look on her face. Hopefully she wasn't mad at me for doing something wrong. Slowly, I levitated my body back to the ground.

"How did you do that?" She inquired.

"I don't know. Actually, I-I think I've seen my mom deflect magic before. It's a little funny though. I didn't even know I had that memory until I was in the same situation."

She twisted her lips in thought. "You diverted my bolts pretty far. I've seen her do the same thing, but I'm beginning to wonder if your abilities are influenced by emotions and memories. " She tapped her chin. "Maybe you just inherited them."

"Beats me." I shrugged.

Merlin put an arm around my shoulder. "Think of the best food you've ever eaten and we'll head out."

I won't lie, I thought of pork.


	11. Memory

I trained with her for another few weeks. In the beginning, I was unsure of myself, considering myself completely lucky to have dodged and flown away from her attacks. After her first few days of initial assessment, she was able to pinpoint my strengths and weaknesses. According to Merlin, I was exceptionally powerful. However, I never felt that way about myself. That supported her next point; my mind was all over the place and I was insecure.

My life had been a blurry and colorful mess so far. Memories floated in and out of my brain, sometimes trigged by bright colors and food. I couldn't help but worry that I'd find things about myself that could trigger me to lose any control.

"You're thinking too much." Merlin scolded. She sat across from me, legs crossed on the green grass. A few feet away the ground caved off and gave way to a beautiful waterfall, crashing down onto sharp white rocks down below. A fall off the edge would have been fatal.

I apologized, folding my hands back together and closing my eyes tight. Merlin wanted to take a day for me to search through my memories before the fire. She said if I could find some clarity, it might aide me in focusing my abilities. "I want you to picture your mother."

I did as she asked, carefully putting together her facial features and clothes. She only stood there in my mind, but I patiently waited to see if something would change. My breaths became steady and I felt the rushing water from below calm my body.

Her light dress changed into tight beige pants beneath tall black boots. Her burgundy corset was laced tight over a white blouse. She glided across my bedroom, placing a book back onto the shelf before blowing out the candles. After she shut the door, I heard another one open and shut. I became aware I was walking in a dream-like state, but I didn't let myself become too aware. As the younger version of myself, I pushed my ear to the door.

"You've been doing this for too long, and now we have to move _again._ "

"We have to stay here, El. If we move again, it could blow my cover."

"Volaria, I don't even know who or what you're investigating. If you want to stay, then that's fine. I am taking Lenara back to the city."

I heard a shuffle of feet, and a woman stifle a cry. "You can't take my daughter away from me."

"I'm trying to keep her alive." My father seethed angrily through gritted teeth.

"She has never been exposed to anything evil."

"Lenara told me about the man from the forest a long time ago. Do you remember a silver haired man, Vee? So if you're telling me _he_ wasn't evil, then who was it?"

I heard a gasp and a thud. Their voices became low, but I swear I heard my mother ask about the smell. My heart began to race, and then I knew what would come next. The front door flew open and I could feel the missing presence of my father. My mother sobbed.

After what seemed like forever, I heard the door slam again. "There's fire everywhere, we need to get Lenara!"

The shadows danced along the bottom of the door as I felt them come closer, but something stopped my father from reaching the handle. As I heard his body fall backwards, I launched myself back to the bed in fear. There was a scuffle behind the door, and I couldn't decipher what was happening any longer. There was another fall, and I watched the blood seep into my bed room.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Merlin was above me, with both hands on each side of my face. I rose from my back and wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Shit." I whispered before taking a few deep breaths. The sound of the rushing water didn't calm me down. I broke into tears.

"It hurts so much." I cried, hugging my shoulders. It hit me all at once.

"We don't need to continue this today." She assured me. "However, I think maybe it would be good to go back and see the other sins for support."

"Where are they now?" I sniveled.

She raised her hand and snapped a finger, transporting us so quickly that I fell face first onto a wooden floor. "They're having dinner." She quipped as I scrambled to my feet.

"Hey Lenny!" I heard. Meliodas was behind the bar serving drinks to customers while Elizabeth and Diane served food to the tables. "Good to see you too, Merlin," He went on. I heard Gowther's light footsteps and watched as he straightened his outfit.

"Gowther, what are you doing?" I questioned, seeing him adjust his newly perky chest beneath the tight pink top.

He looked up with a blank expression. "Oh hello, Lenara. Elizabeth and Diane make more tips than me. After a few days of observation, I've realized that this is based on the amount of cleavage shown to customers."

My lips started to twist in disbelief but turned into a smile. "Sure, Gowther. Do whatever you need to do."

The door kicked open. King walked in with a frustrated expression while Ban followed, smirking like a smug bastard and holding a bottle of ale. Meliodas put a cup in my hand and told me to drink, 'because I would need it soon'. I shrugged and took a sip, hoping it would calm my anxiety. Seeing him again made me feel warm, flushing my cheeks. "Lenny," He said, brushing my shoulder with his fingertips as he walked by.

King and I sat together at the bar and had a drink while Ban slipped behind, tying on his apron before pulling out an assortment of knives. King sighed, taking gulps of his drink. "He's picked up a new habit."

"Oh would I like to know?"

"He's getting…"

Ban slammed a full glass of ale on the table. "Hey Lenny! Check this out!" He pulled the front of his pants down so far that the women in the boar hat came flocking behind me.

"Oh my god." A woman gasped.

"It's huge!" said another.

"It's fading terribly." I commented, receiving scowls from the ladies. The orange fox tattoo began below his navel; the tail trailed down low fanning down onto…let's just say if it went any lower it would have made for a painful experience.

"Yeah, I guess it's because I heal so quickly. Definitely not as good as my other one, but it's not like I got an expert to do it." He pulled his pants back up, and the women dispersed.

"Ban, there are children here!" King whined.

Meliodas laughed. "Yeah but by all that attention, I'm starting to think he should start serving the food."

"Hell no." Ban disagreed. "If I'm serving, I'm not cooking. If I'm not cooking, then you probably are; and if _you're_ cooking, we all die."

"I guess that's true." He nodded. "Hey, Merlin. How's she doing?"

Merlin adjusted comfortably on the bar stool. "She's doing quite well, actually; much better than my old apprentice."

I wrinkled my nose. "Whatever happened to her?"

Meliodas snorted, taking a peak of Elizabeth's behind as she hopped behind the counter for more drinks. "You don't wanna know."

Ban put his apron back on, sighing at the sudden rush of customers walking through the door. He began the fire and seasoning the skillet as I walked behind him. I seemed to have forgotten how tall he was after being gone for a few weeks. "Are you tired?" I asked quietly.

"Yes." He responded, expertly slicing down meat. I was impressed by the way he handled the cutlery. Beautiful fingers moved like a dance, seasoning and cutting.

"Would…you be opposed to some help?"

Ban gave a small grin, taking the weight of tension from the air. "Sure. I haven't seen you do your thing in awhile."

He moved out of my way and wiped his hands onto the apron. Then, I grabbed the hot handle of the skillet, prompting a shocked Ban to grab my arm in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?"

"If I concentrate the energy just right…"

Within ten minutes, plates were made and served. Meliodas was pretty impressed, mostly because he knew there were other things I could do with that ability. Ban had retreated to the bar at some point, having a drink with King. He seemed pretty satisfied about not having to cook. I looked over to the plates rolling across the counter on their sides, smiling as they washed themselves. Luckily, it didn't take me much energy to clean the dishes.

"If you keep spitting food out every second, we'll never slow down." Ban laughed deeply as I slid him another drink. "You still can't have my job, Lenny. If I get too bored I-"

King interjected. "You'll get more tattoos? Maybe a piercing somewhere you shouldn't?"

"I was going to say drink too much. Wait, what about a piercing?"

King let his head fall on the table. Ban shrugged, catching my stare. "Does your head get tired?"

"It's not really great for me to get over stimulated."

"We'll work on that." Merlin said with a wink.

A few more hours had passed before Merlin disappeared. Meliodas said that happened a lot, mostly when he got around to asking her about past events. Thankfully, the boar hat emptied its customers and we could all get some rest. However, that didn't happen.

Meliodas swept behind the bar, green eyes beaming at Ban as he passed by. "Hey Ban, I think it would be fun to throw some moves at Lenny in the morning. I'd like to see where she's really at."

"Oh really? Count me in." He laughed.

I perked up from beneath the table, hitting my head on the edge as I cleaned a sticky mess from below. Kovak rushed over, slobbering all over my face. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Actually, we're picking up and heading back to Liones tomorrow. We'll take some shots at you before we go, if you can handle it." Meliodas grinned. I blinked at him slowly and rolled my eyes. Something caught my attention, drawing me to the door.

"Hey, that poster must have fallen." I headed over to the front door and picked it up. It was one of the wanted posters from the board. I recognized the faces from the others, but this one was pretty different from the actual person I knew. _Wow, that's supposed to be Meliodas? It doesn't really look like him. This man is so much…_

 _Volaria?_

 _I wasn't in the boar hat any more. Instead, I was standing in front of a shimmering lake. The sun began to set, taking my breath away as I felt a hand hold mine. "Volaria, you are the most remarkable witch I have ever met."_

 _"Do you love me?" I asked him, but it wasn't me. These weren't my lips._

 _He placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing tightly. "I wouldn't call it love." I felt him pull my body closer into him. His lips hovered over my neck, planting light kisses before whispering into my ear. "You've been lying to me." At that moment, his powerful arms gripped my back, pulling my chest into his. I could barely breathe._

 _He raked his nails down my body, tearing cloth and flesh. "What are you…" I whimpered, feeling every sting as if I was truly there. I could even feel the cracks in my mothers heart. She didn't love my father like she loved him, and I felt it. It was forbidden; it was so wrong. I looked into his eyes, glazing over the edges of his jaw and the tip of his nose. He was sharp like a knife, with a hint of a sweet smile just as poisonous._

 _"You chose the kingdom over me." He threw me to the ground. I gasped, landing on my back and stealing another glimpse of the light shining between his silver locks. Lazily, he tilted his head and rested his hands in his pockets. "Take your family and run before I catch you."_

"This man isn't Meliodas." I said flatly, breaking free of the vision. I felt sick. Ban grabbed a bucket and pulled back my hair.

"Yeah I've seen that look in the mirror plenty of times." He laughed. "What were you saying about that poster?"

I vomited into the bucket, hanging my head on the side. "We'll talk in the morning."


	12. Absolute Fire

_AN - There will be a part two to this chapter. Also, to assist on some minor writers block, I'll be doing some Bleach one-shots on the side. I'd like to take some requests._

King dragged me out of bed, mumbling something about putting on nice clothes and sleeping in bed so late. I flailed a little bit and hit my head on the floor, silently cursing him. I heard a few more groans, and eventually angered shouts.

"It's like, noon, King! People are trying to sleep!" Ban bellowed at him, followed by the sound of a crash.

"You idiot! We've been in the capital for hours now! Stop throwing stuff at me!" I heard King stomp his foot. "Since when do people sleep in until noon, anyways!"

I gritted my teeth and banged my head against the floor, slowly remembering I didn't sleep alone last night. A blush danced around my cheeks, and I hurried to my feet in search of clothes for the day. When I turned to look at the two buffoons arguing behind me, they stopped and waved comically, as if they were afraid I would kill them.

"…she looks so scary in the mornings." Ban mumbled.

I shook my head, taking a lime colored dress from King and heading for the bathroom. "I'd appreciate it if you picked up all the stuff you threw, Ban."

"Yes ma'm."

I tossed my dirty clothes aside and slid the dress on. It was short sleeved and ended at the ankles, with an unfortunate v-neck that cut a little deep for my liking. With a groan, I stepped outside to see Ban licking his fingers and spiking his hair in front of the mirror. A smile played at the edge of my lips, one I simply couldn't resist. King had gone already, probably in search of Diane.

"You look cute." He laughed. "I guess we're going to the market today."

"Thanks, and that sounds like fun. Maybe we'll find some sweets."

"Well if you ask me, I know exactly how this day is going to play out." Ban threw himself on the bed, giving a good stretch. My eyes took a hidden peak at his torso, silently gasping at the sight of his lean, muscular figure twisting on the bed. Sweat began to perspire at the edge of his hips, and I realized it was getting warmer in the room.

"King will follow Diane around like a lost puppy. Poor Hawk is going to have a hell of a time keeping Captain off of Elizabeth. Well, I guess Bartra's around so…"

"Oh! Yeah I-I guess the King is..." I fumbled with my words, losing my train of thought as I took a deep breath and shrugged. "Yeah I mean, we're in the capital."

Ban slowly raised one eyebrow while adjusting his leg to hang off the bed. He eyed me, tilting his head slowly in search of something amiss. "You're being kind of weird."

I smiled in a poor attempt to hide my leaking sexual frustration. "You know, I'm just excited, let's go!" I grabbed his arm and pulled, digging my heels into the floor. It was no use; he was much too strong for me. There was a strong pull on my arm, followed by a deep laugh. My plan to get him out of the bedroom completely backfired, and I ended up right on top of him. His scent flooded my nostrils as I gasped into his neck, accidentally tasting his sweat on my lips.

"I don't know you to trip over your words like that." He laughed again, lightly scratching my back. Every inch he traced over me seemed to leave sparks throughout my body. I wanted so much from him right then and there; to claw his back and pull on his hair. "Maybe, it's so hot in here; you're just losing your mind a little."

Instead of opening my mouth to speak, I clenched my jaw and relaxed, despite the uncomfortable amount of sweat beading down my chest. Strong fingers found their way into my hair, moving lightly before scratching onto my scalp. "Do you like that?" He whispered. I could hear his heartbeat, and feel his skin on mine.

"Yes." I meant to say it strongly, but it sounded more like a whimper. My experience was…weak. The very few times I was with another, I found it short and unsatisfying. Yet, somehow Ban made me feel like I was on absolute fire. I wanted to tear apart and come together all at once. The sudden slick feeling between my legs brought a pinch of shame over me, but at the same time I wanted...

"You're shaking." He commented, breaking my chain of thought.

"I know."

"So are you going to kiss me?"

I looked up, slowly, and accidentally grazed my lips over his jaw. He smiled in satisfaction and squeezed my backside, causing a tiny yelp to escape my mouth. Suddenly, I felt him taste me, sucking on my bottom lip as he hiked my dress up to my waist. His hands gripped the back of my thighs and forced them open harshly. I couldn't stop trembling, and my muscles fell weak on top of him.

"You poor thing." He growled, bringing a hand up to pull away my hair. I could feel his grin as he inched over my neck before lightly sinking his teeth into me, running his tongue along the puncture marks and lapping at the blood.

"I know what you're doing." I moaned tiredly, unable to keep up with his movements. "You're sapping my energy aren't you?"

He gave a chuckle into my neck, licking the remainder of blood before looking back to me. He touched our noses sweetly, and I watched his pink tongue lick red from his lips. "Yeah, but just a little bit."

I fell on him, crashing my lips against his once again. Our tongues tangled forcefully, and with that, I gave him approval to do with me as he would. Once again, I felt those perfect hands around my thighs, invading my center. I screamed into him, only to feel him scowl in disapproval at my sudden noise. "Quiet..."

He was knuckle deep in me, and I stuttered gasp after gasp into the crook of his neck as he laughed. "You're so wet, it's practically a _sin_."

The door creaked, and we both froze.

"Hey gu-"

"Captain!" Ban flinched from beneath me, causing me to fall on the floor much like this morning. I moaned faintly, feeling broken from his sudden absence.

"Oh, okay! We'll just…leave!" Meliodas said cautiously before laughing behind the door, calling out to the rest of the sins. "Hey, we're out!

"But what about, Lenny and Ban?" Elizabeth questioned.

"They're a little busy."

Their voices faded away as I listened to the door shut. Ban helped me back to my feet, and I felt dazed staring up into his powerful eyes. "I'm not finished with you." He held up his fingers, the same ones that were in me just a moment before. He gave a quick wink before sucking at the tips, allowing his eyes to roll in the back of his head.


	13. Absolute Fire Part 2

_I have not written a scene like this in a very long time, which explains why it took so long. Hopefully you guys enjoy it! That being said, this one is definitely rated MA, so be cautious! Also, I've started on my Bleach one-shots. The first one is Aizen centric, so that should be done pretty soon. Bleach fans are welcome to hit me up with character requests!_

 _"I'm not finished with you."_

The grin of the fox was calculating and lustful. I was the prey of the day, trapped between two leather clad arms as he backed me against the wall. Ban began to close the gap between our lips when I let out a nervous laugh. He pushed his lips onto mine, laughing with me. It was a wonderful feeling; tasting his smile and feeling the deep vibration of his voice.

The kisses were light and quick, and then I felt his hand touch my lower back. That was when he left my mouth and teased the bite marks on my neck with his tongue. "Ban, that…hurts."

He lifted his head quickly, eyes wide. "I'm sorry. I guess I was being a little rough."

I felt bad, hoping I didn't ruin the mood. My hand reached up to him, sliding off the red leather from his chest and tracing my finger over his edges. The way his skin felt beneath my fingers was intoxicating, taking away my sense of time and reason. My hand fell to his pants and I gripped the waistband. _I cannot believe I am doing this._

I took too long. He shimmied out of his pants in a matter of seconds before grabbing me, pushing me against the wall with my legs wrapped around his waist. _Damn, I didn't even get to see him! He moved too quick, now I don't know how much pain I'm in for._

His mouth was all over my neck, breathing hot on my body as he flung the dress over my head. "I'm…I think I'm a little scared." I giggled again, feeling his tongue draw circles on my breast. _No one has ever taken the time to do this to me; to taste and touch me like this._

We were both incredibly naked; skin on skin while he captured my eyes. "Oh Lenara." He touched my nose with his. "I promise I won't do anything you don't want to."

Hearing those words come from his mouth made me feel incredibly safe. That was the moment I decided in mind and body, that I could be his. I took a deep breath and nodded at him, smiling as I kissed him again and again. Feeling his arms wrapped around me, and hearing the sweet sounds of our lips and laughs was nothing like I had ever felt.

I pushed him onto the bed, drawing a roar of laughter from his mouth. The view of him on the bed was _amazing._ Ban's long legs, wild eyes, and rigid chest were ever so inviting on that mattress. He didn't need to say anything to me, and before I knew it, I was slowly crawling all over him. The tip of his sex grazed against my stomach, leaving a sticky trail and drawing a moan from his throat.

The pale blue locks were tangled between my small fingers, pulling and twisting as he sucked on my bottom lip. Rough hands claimed my body; leaving no part of me untouched. It wasn't long before he began to gently pull my legs apart. At that moment, I latched myself onto the sensitive skin on his neck. In retaliation, he relentlessly teased, slowly dragging his fingers between my thighs. I growled in response, and suddenly felt his fingers inside me. I yelped in surprise as he chuckled; his mouth wide open and eyes on fire beneath me.

I dug my face into his chest in embarrassment, moaning like a cat in heat as he pumped his fingers faster. "Ba..Baaan," I seethed into him, prompting him to slow down and taste the sweat on my shoulder.

"Hmm, you sound like a sheep," He smiled and forcefully threw me on my back. "Now close those pretty eyes."

My eyes shut tight, feeling his hands wrap around my ankles and spreading me wide. I gasped, terrified and thrilled at being open in front of him like this. As sensitive as I was already, I wasn't sure how much I could take before I burst."Relax," he whispered, sensing my fear. Ban lightly touched my hips and left kisses on my thighs.

Ban didn't waste any more time. He pushed his head between my thighs, running his tongue in and around me. I screamed, grabbing his hair and arching my back into him. "Oh please, _please_."

I couldn't keep up with him. My legs shook as my brain tried to process the pleasure he was giving me. His hot tongue swirled, tasting every drip while his hands squeezed my thighs. I loved it; every single moment. I wanted him closer. No matter how hard I pulled his hair or how hard he teased, he still wasn't close enough.

I shook, feeling electricity dance all over my skin. He pulled away, grabbing my arms to help me sit up. When I opened my eyes, I saw him sitting on the floor between my knees. He looked up at me, sweetly like a kitten before licking his fingers delicately. A gasp escaped my lips. That was when he stopped and took his fingers from his lips.

"Open your mouth." He whispered slowly. That was enough to make me quiver, but I did as I was told. His thumb grazed my bottom lip, and I could still smell the scent from his fingers.

The tip of his finger reached the back of my tongue. "Now suck."

I wrapped my lips around his finger, going back and forth. Ban remained completely still as I took over, teasing with my tongue. His eyes burned into me, making the hair on the back of my neck stand. He began to get a little aggressive, digging his finger before prying my mouth open for another.

"Hmm?" I whimpered.

He slowed down. "Is that too rough?"

I shook my head.

"Do you…want it a little harder?"

Without thinking, I nodded. His grin widened before pushing me on my back. I didn't have any time to get comfortable before he started, moving a set of fingers in and out of my throat as well as inside of my cunt. I sucked on his fingers as hard as my mouth would let me, moaning much louder than before. His deep laughs sounded so perfect, and I found myself lost in them. The image of his bare chest before me was so beautiful. I don't think I even realized how many of his fingers were inside of me.

Ban slipped his hands away before positioning himself in front of me, keeping my thighs apart so he could drag his length all over my slit.

"Oh my god, just do it already." I demanded.

His eyes ran over me, top to bottom before strong hands grabbed my breasts. He fondled them, sucking and pinching with his fingers and teeth. My back arched into him, grinding and thrusting for sweet relief that he wasn't ready to give. "You're so stubborn!"

"It's not fun if I can't taste you," he said between licks. I whined like a child before throwing my hand between my legs, accidentally grabbing him in the process. I liked the idea, and began stroking him teasingly.

"Oh this is _fun_." He purred between my swollen breasts before pulling himself off of me. He was still in my hand, watching me play with him. Warm droplets fell down my fingers, glistening in the light from the window. I gave him a good squeeze and watched his eyes shut; a groan passing his lips. "Let me go so I can put it somewhere else."

I released him, fully expecting him to go back to his teasing game. Yet there was no teasing this time. Ban hovered over me, two hands propping himself up as I felt his hips meet mine. He slid in quite easily, breathing out a sigh of relief as I ran my hands down his back. His thrusts were slow at first, and the initial pain insisted I would bleed. I closed my eyes in fear of this and pulled him closer.

"I can..." He breathed heavily into my ear. "I can stop…if that's…"

I dug my nails into his back. "Don't stop."

He kissed my neck and laughed, speeding up his pace as I threw my head back and yelped. "You make the cutest sounds," he whispered, nibbling on my jaw. Every second that past drew me closer to the edge, weakening my legs even more.

 _He's so close, but I need him closer._

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and held him tight, clawing at the damp skin beneath my fingers. He moaned at the touch, producing more sloppy kisses and slowing down his thrusts. _No, don't slow down. Please…_

"Kiss me." I whispered, looking up to him with weak eyes. "Please, kiss me…even after we're done. I want you to kiss me, always."

He studied me, slowing his pace before stopping. I couldn't help but giggle a little. It was all I could do after being so feeble beneath him. Maybe Ban was just driving me crazy. I rolled my head to the side and took a deep breath, feeling drunk.

Ban slipped out of me for a moment, and I felt him pick me up from the bed. This time, he sat down and slowly lowered me until I was full of him. I liked the position so much better. Feeling the heat of our cores, so close to one another, was absolutely _insane_.

He kissed me. No, he sucked the life from me as I selfishly rode him. Ban's lips parted from mine, but they never left my body. He left sweet spots and chuckles all over my pale neck and shoulders. His fingers caught my chin, catching my attention with a dark tone. "Make me come, _now._ "

I wrapped my arms around him for support, speeding up the pace to my own liking. He assisted, grabbing my rear end to pull me onto him, harder and harder each time. Our semi-controlled moans turned into shameless cries. The closer I got, the tighter I held him. He was getting there too, leaving merciless bruises and red welts across my back side.

Ban grabbed my hair, pulling my head back with a howl as he burst inside me. My fists pounded his back as I continued to ride, breaking with my own wet orgasm soon after. I screamed plenty of obscenities. Ban didn't seem to mind though, laughing as he helped me slow down.

"We made a mess, Lenny," he said proudly, showing me the come on his fingers before giving me a spank.

"It was worth it." I whispered, leaning into his damp neck. "Ohh, I have to pee so badly."

Ban patted my back and his lips found mine. He was sincere, smiling into me with a tired shudder. "I'll carry you to the bathroom."


End file.
